MNR (National museum recovery program) artworks

Artworks looted during the Second World War

The Musée lorrain holds three works of special status in its collections, grouped together under the acronym MNR (Musées Nationaux Récupération) :

 

  • After Georges de La Tour (1593, Vic-sur-Seille - 1652, Lunéville)
    The pipe-blower
    Oil on canvas
    H.77 ; l. 63 cm
    Inv. D.51.2.1 - MNR 10
  • Attributed to Francesco Simonini (1686, Parma - 1753, Florence)
    Scene of looting in an inn
    18th century
    H. 101,5 ; l. 136,5 cm
    Inv. D.68.4.13 - MNR 113
  • Attributed to Pieter Coecke van Aelst (workshop)
    Wild animals fighting
    About 1570
    Wool and silk tapestry
    H. 339 ; l. 319 ; P. 0,3 cm
    Inv. D.2005.0.16 - OAR 57

During the Second World War, the establishment of Nazi power in Europe led to genocide and persecution, as well as expropriation and spoliation. Between 1940 and the end of the war, almost 60,000 items of cultural property were stolen in France by the Nazis. After the Liberation, many works were recovered in Germany and, for the most part, quickly returned to their owners. More than 2,000 works remained in the custody of the Musées de France, pending their return to their rightful owners.

The acronym MNR, included in the inventory number, refers to all these works, which form separate collections. Half of them are old paintings. These works do not belong to the State, which only holds them temporarily, pending their eventual restitution, with no statute of limitations. It is the duty of each depositary museum to present the works concerned and the information gathered about them to the public.

For further information, please consult the national website of the Ministry of Culture and Communication under the heading Site Rose-Valland / Musées Nationaux Récupérations.

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