“We are at a point in this war that is the most dangerous to the greatest historical achievements known to man.”
This is George Clooney speaking during World War II in Monuments Men, a movie in which he plays art historian Professor Frank Stokes, based on the real Lt George Stout.
Lt Stout was one of a band of “art officers” who worked to protect, save and restore Europe’s cultural heritage. The corps of just 17 people was formed in December 1944 — the Monuments Men.
I am looking at them now, and through their eyes, at the Exhibition Monuments Men, in the Chateau de La Roche-Guyon. It is on until November 24, 2024.
This castle in a village 75km north-west of Paris is an appropriate place for the exhibition, as during the nazi occupation of France, it was taken over in March 1944 and, for six months, used as the headquarters of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
The French La Rochefoucauld family, which owned the chateau, had a substantial art collection, and it was identified as a crucial site to be protected by the Monuments Men.
This exhibition has been put together by 23-year-old Matteo Grouard, a WWII historian. The exhibition’s subtext is to raise awareness among new generations of the importance of preserving cultural heritage during wars.
The display, in the beautiful and immaculately preserved castle on the banks of the river Seine, is also part of the official celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of France at the end of WWII.
There are testimonials, objects, archival documents, photographs and mannequins in uniform — all combining to tell the story.
And some of those stories are personal, like that of US Lt James J. Rorimer, who was a curator at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Before the war, Lt Stout had pioneered new art conservation techniques at Harvard University’s Fogg Museum.
They were among the 345 men and women from 13 nations who volunteered to serve in the group. They were art historians and museum curators, and others trained to identify and care for works of art in the difficult wartime conditions.
They had limited authority, but still tracked down a huge amount of looted art.
A display in the exhibition states the nazis looted 650,000 works of art between 1933 and 1945.
Between 100,000 and 400,000 are still missing.
But of the 100,000 artworks looted during the occupation of France, 61,233 were recovered by the Allies. By 1950, 41,770 had been returned to their owners, and 2200 were entrusted to the French National Museums.
Perhaps the biggest recovery was that of the panels of the Ghent Altarpiece (The Adoration Of The Mystic Lamb) by the Van Eyck brothers, which was completed in 1432, and is recognised as one of the world’s greatest works of art. The nazis seized it, and it was intended for Adolf Hitler’s Fuhrermuseum.
Lt Stout found it in the Altaussee Salt Mine in Austria, just before Hitler’s order to blow it up was carried out. He didn’t want the art to fall into the hands of the Allies.
I have seen it in the Ghent Cathedral — thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of the Monuments Men.
MONUMENTAL THOUGHTS
+ The film is based on the 2007 non-fiction book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves And The Greatest Treasure Hunt In History by Robert M. Edsel.
+ One of Switzerland’s leading art museums, Kunsthaus Zurich, is removing five paintings from one of its exhibitions while it investigates whether they were looted by the nazis.
The works are by Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Gustave Courbet. They are part of the Emil Buhrle Collection, named for a German-born arms dealer who made a fortune during World War II by making and supplying weapons to the nazis.
+ The Monuments Men and Women Foundation is a non-profit organisation which works to raise global awareness of the service of the Monuments Men and Women, to honour them for their achievements, and to complete their unfinished mission of returning missing art to its owners. monumentsmenandwomenfnd.org
+ The Chateau de La Roche-Guyon opens at 10am every day. Entry is €9.50, which includes the Monuments Men exhibition. The La Rochefoucauld family have undertaken major renovations of the castle, preserving this elegant 18th-century residence, with its graceful combination of architectural styles, which capture the essence of the Age of Enlightenment. A fortified keep is on top of a hill above the castle, where it has stood since the 12th century. It is linked to the lower chateau by a tunnel through the rock. La Roche-Guyon village is in a bend in the Seine River, 10km east of Vernon. chateaudelarocheguyon.fr/english/chateau-en.
Source Agencies
