The Coronation of the Virgin
Spoliation Advisory Panel rules that German banker sold Rubens to pay debts and not because of Nazi persecution.
The Spoliation Advisory Panel today published a report which concluded that Herbert Gutmann, a German banker and art collector, sold The Coronation of the Virgin, an oil sketch by Sir Peter Paul Rubens, in 1934 to repay business debts he had incurred in the early 1930s and not because of the actions of the Nazis.
The painting is now in the possession of the Samuel Courtauld Trust.
The Spoliation Advisory Panel was designated by the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport as the Advisory Panel for the purposes of considering the claim under Section 3(2) of the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009. The Panel was set up in 2000 to help resolve claims on art looted during the Nazi era.