More Art Treasures

This wonderful piece sells for about USD 500, but without any reference to the master artist behind. The catalog comes with the following description: "This is a very fine period painting in oil of a young lad in the Hitler Youth. It is in the original period frame and is expertly accomplished. The youthful exuberance and idealistic fervor is reflected in this noble, but, cherubic face. The boy is depicted probably in the 1930's. We hope and pray that he did not end up being one of the millions of German soldiers who died for the Fatherland in the maelstrom of WWII. With the frame the painting is around 16 x 13 inches and is signed by the artist (looks like "Peters"). A fine historically important item."

This priceless memorabilia sells for USD 56. I wouldn't quite consider this a "piece of art", and moreoever I believe these items should be kept by museums and archives of responsible countries and not flying over in the open market from hand to hand, bequested from an old Nazi to a new one. Possession of these items is deemed illegal is most Western countries, how is this then possible?

"Najade", by prominent Nazi sculptor Fritz Klimsch. From the seller's catalog: "This is a statue by the very famous artist Professor Fritz Klimsch, born in Frankfurt February 10, 1870 and was offspring of a generation of artists. At the age of 15 Klimsch decided to become a sculptor. At 24 he received the Grand State Prize of the Royal Academy of the Arts in 1894. A long trip to Greece confirms the influence of antique statuary on him. He then produced numerous busts: Sven Hedin, Ludendorff, Liebermann, Max Planck, Schlieffen, etc. He continued to refine his style after 1918 and mainly sculpted female figures from mythology: Flora, Daphne, Psyche, Nereide, which add even more to his renown. Appointed professor in the College of Fine Arts in Berlin Charlottenburg; a position he held until 1934. He had many students who became quite famous in their own right to include the founder of the I.G. Farben industry Carl Duisberg who died in 1936. Many of the drawings of Klimsch are featured in Not Geld (the emergency money of the great inflation of the 1920's). From 1934 through 1936 he was supervisor of a Meister studio for the sculptor at the Berlin Academy of the Arts and later yielded his post to Richard Scheibe in order to devote himself entirely to his work and to the orders that were rolling in. He did many Third Reich sculptures such as statuary for the Luftwaffe Communications School and called it Der Kהmpfer in Wind und Sonne. For the Ministry of Propaganda in Berlin he did the statue Beschaulichkeit. In 1939 for J. Goebbel's property in the garden of that ministry he did Brunnengruppe. In 1940 he did statuary for Ribbontrop's Foreign Office gardens and many others. In 1945, while his third son (he lost his first two in WWI) was fighting at the front, Klimsch left Berlin after a bombardment which partially destroyed his studio and moved to Saltzburg and continued his work on various monument projects. However, when the American troops entered Salzburg they plundered his new studio and trashed most of his work. Forced to leave Salzburg he moved to Baden into a peasant house in the upper Black Forest and recommenced his work and turned out many fine sculptures. During his time at work in the Third Reich he was treated as the master he was and some of his finest monumental statuary was produced as well as figural nudes that were his particular specialty. The firm of Rosenthal in the 1930's featured many of his works including the sculpture we offer here. Note the Rosenthal advertisements from the Third Reich magazine Kunst in Deutschen Reich. We also show others of his sculptures for comparison. Professor Klimsch was one the GREATS of the art world and of the National Socialist era. Here we present Najade, one of Prof. Klimsch's most alluring figures and was produced in limited edition. In our pictures you will see an original ad for this figure by Rosenthal, one of the premier porcelain companies that originated in Selb Bavaria and produced many figures during the Nazi regime. Prof. Klimsch was one of their most prolific and favorite sculptures and his works were practically the logo and symbol of this prestigious company. Many of the top officials of the Reich were collectors of Klimsch-Rosenthal porcelains, especially Dr. Goebbels, Christian Weber, Hermann Gצring, and Adolf Wagner, Gaulieter of Bavaria. The classic lines and fine features go far to depict the beauty of the Aryan woman in the true Third Reich art form. This rare porcelain figure is in perfect condition and measure 16 inches from her extended fingertips to her toes. From her seat to the top of her head is about 11 inches. The bottom of the statue is covered with stick-on tabs to help stabilize the figure when sitting upon the surface of whatever it is placed on. This is wonderful, beautiful example of Third Reich art by one of the more famous of the artists of this era of realistic portrayal." This jewel sells for USD 1450 and his companion, the "Hockende", for USD 1350.

This original painting by no less than Joseph Vietze, shown at the German Art Exposition of Munich in 1941 (I've posted somewhere else the catalog cover of the event in question) and sells for about USD 3850 (while Klimt sold last year for 135 millions). Somehow it's suspicious because in European standard it's a rather ridiculous price, more like to fit young students with luck than the paintings of such a "great master" like Herr Vietze. Once again, the catalog text is really remarkable: "Here is an original rendering of the chancellery of the Fuehrer, Adolf Hitler, and is called the Bischofweisen Reichskanzlei. This fantastic rendering is by a major Third Reich artist who had some of his works featured in the Haus der Deutschen Kunst in Munich. The artist, Joseph Vietze, and one of his most famous painting was the rendering of SS-Gruppenfuehrer Reinhard Heydrich, that was shown in the Grosse Deutsche Kunstausstellung catalog of 1941. This was the official exhibition catalog of the finest of German art and Vietze’s “Heydrich” was number 17 in the listings. It was an excellent portrayal of the Gruppenfuehrer seated beside a porcelain fencer by the SS Allach firm. Heydrich was an ardent active fencing master right up to the time of his murder by British-controlled Czechs. This fully equipped branch of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin was built as a remote government center and as Ray Cowdery said in his book on the Chancellery, “…this was sort of a western White House and allowed Hitler to receive diplomats and to conduct government business without leaving one of the most beautiful places on earth.” Bischofwiesen is just outside the tiny town of Berchtesgaden not far from the Obersalzberg where the Fuehrer had his mountain home, the Berghof. It was Hitler’s regular practice to retreat to his Berghof for extended periods several times each year and he took much of the Reich chancellery infrastructure with him. The compound was completed in 1937. It was absolutely a beautiful Bavarian-motif building with verandas at each end. Several other buildings that make up the compound are scattered here and there: SS guard Kasserne, diplomat lodging, caretaker buildings, etc. The inside is breathtakingly beautiful with red marble columns and staircases. Until recently the entire building was occupied by U.S. Army command. It was then turned over to the Bavarian Government and now, thank goodness, it was sold to a private group, which has no doubt saved it from the wrecking crews of the present government of culture vandals, which would take great delight in pulling it down and eradicating it from history (so they think) just as these barbarian criminals have done with the Platterhof, the remains of the Berghof, and all the other historic sites on the Obersalzberg. Only the tea house survives and these modern Mongol hordes would love to destroy it, also. They are, for the most part, ravenous wolves in 1000-euro suits. "

A fine sculpture of a "grenade thrower", a popular item in 1941. "Der Geist des Deutschen Soldaten" sells for only USD 12.500. There's also a portrait of Hitler selling for USD 13.500 but I don't feel like publishing it, it makes one feel a little venomous, but this effect is called "start realism" and apparently there had been no such a movement in Western art since Classical Greece. It apparently evoked the psyche of the Germans to its deepest, and somehow I can actually believe that; the Aesthetics of National-Socialism singles them out as a unique totalitarian movement unlike Soviets and Fascists of any kind, it's a very serious topic that remains largely undealt with today among the scholars and the public. Nazi Art was the most impressive of their propaganda artillery, the very end goal of it not mere means. A bust of Hitler by Flettner also sells today for over USD 6000 and his bronze statue by Schmid-Ehmen for USD 3900.