Whose legacy? Mechanisms of the Art Restitution

nauki o sztuce

podstawowy

HS2_W03; HS2_W06; HS2_U01; P6S_WK; P6S_UK

English language skills

Today, many ask themselves to whom ancient marbles from the British Museum belong. The issue of ownership of heritage specimens, such as works of art, is the subject of provenance studies, lawsuits and international disputes. And the issue of heritage itself, especially national heritage, is a concept explored in many fields.

Today, many ask themselves to whom the so-called "Elgin Marbles" (ancient sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens, today in the British Museum) or the so-called "Rosetta Stone" (ancient Egyptian inscribed stone, today in the British Museum) belong. The issue of ownership of heritage specimens, such as works of art, is the subject of provenance studies, lawsuits and international disputes. And the issue of heritage itself, especially national heritage, is a concept explored in many fields.

Provenance research, i.e. the ownership of works of art - as basic research - generates complex phenomena and dilemmas in contemporary civilization. On the one hand, they have been and are a tool for the restitution of works of art that have been seized, looted, confiscated, colonized or taken. On the other hand, in a broader context, provenance research of museum collections has become the basis for a process called the decolonization of museums.

The lectures will be problem-based. Basic definitions of cultural heritage and theoretical issues in the field of provenance research and art restitution policy (definitions, history, research centers dealing with these areas of research, resources and databases, and legal basis) will be presented.

In addition, selected examples of restitution of works of art (such as the "Lady with an Ermine" by Leonardo da Vinci, the Wawel tapestries, the "Jewess with Oranges" by Alexander Gierymski and many others) will be discussed separately. The topic of the decolonization of museums in a broad and narrow perspective will be developed, including the restitution of musealia (such as the return of African artefacts by French museums). Separately, the topic of the history and current problems of provenance research and restitution in Poland will be presented.

1.Ariese Csilla, Wróblewska Magdalena, Practicing Decoloniality in Museums. A Guide with Global Examples, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2021.

https://library.oapen.org/viewer/web/viewer.html?file=/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/51452/9789048554836.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

2.Białonowska Magdalena, Dzieła sztuki odzyskane dzięki działalności Andrzeja Stanisława Ciechanowieckiego – poszukiwacza poloniców na Zachodzie, [w:] Dziedzictwo utracone – dziedzictwo odzyskane, red. A. Kamler, D. Pietrzkiewicz, wyd. Uniwersytet Warszawski, Warszawa 2014, s. 501-518. [summary in English]

https://www.academia.edu/44426083/Dzieła_sztuki_odzyskane_dzięki_działalności_Andrzeja_Stanisława_Ciechanowieckiego_poszukiwacza_poloniców_na_Zachodzie

3.Schuhmacher Jacques, Nazi-Era Provenance of Museum Collections

A research Guide, London: UCL Press, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2024.

https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10190231/1/The-Nazi-Era-Provenance-of-Museum-Collections.pdf

HS2_W03 - Has a structured and deepened knowledge, covering advanced research methods of art history, including provenance research

HS2_W06 - Has detailed knowledge of contemporary achievements, centres and research schools of art history, including collecting and provenance research

HS2_U01 Be able to search, analyse, evaluate, select and integrate information from various sources, including archival documents and electronic databases for provenance research

P6S_WK - knows and understands the fundamental dilemmas of modern civilisation, such as the dilemma of cultural heritage ownership

P6S_UK - is able to participate in debate - present and evaluate different opinions and positions and discuss them

participation and activity during discussions