Sammlerinnen und Sammler des Berliner Mäzenatentums und ihre Landhäuser als Orte der privaten Kunstpräsentation
Kunsthistorisches Institut der FU-Berlin
Koserstr. 20
14195 Berlin
Raum A 163,
27. September 2024
Sponsored by:
Freie Universität zu Berlin
Deutsche Zentrum Kulturgutverluste
Mosse Art Research Initiative
Mosse Art Restitution Project
Over the past few years, we have gained new insights into the superb art collections that adorned the halls of Jewish homes in fin-de-siècle Berlin. The artworks were often the backdrop for varied private occasions and were, as was the case of the Palais Mosse at Leipziger Platz, often open to the public. Much less is known about artworks that were exhibited in the more intimate environments of Jewish country houses. The workshop “Berlin Art Patrons and Their Country Houses as Places for the Private Display of Collections,” which took place at the Free University Berlin on 27 September 2024, was a welcome opportunity to explore the historical and artistic relevance of these holdings. Designed as the final public event of the Mosse Art Research Initiative (MARI), the well-attended meeting brought together a group of experts to explore the nature and the function of these long-overlooked spaces and objects that testified to German Jewry’s socio-economic achievements.
Schenkendorf Estate in 2019
Schenkendorf Manor, the Mosse family’s summer residence, was the point of departure for the workshop. Located nine miles south of Berlin, the lush and luxurious estate must have left a lasting impression on its visitors. Upon arrival, they were welcomed by an exquisite French tapestry from the eighteenth century which covered an entire wall of the large, neoclassic entrance hall. A tasteful collection of Asian art, together with intricate Italian Renaissance furniture, contributed to the mansion’s patrician atmosphere. Purchased by Rudolf Mosse (1843-1920) in 1896, Schenkendorf soon became a family favorite, a secluded refuge from the tiring business of the bustling capital. It was here that Rudolf spent his sunset years, and his grandson George (1918-1999) much of his youth. Some of the rare private photos that have survived the turmoil of the Nazi period offer a glimpse into the happy life of an upper-class Jewish family at the height of its social integration in German society.
After an introduction by Meike Hoffmann, MARI’s project coordinator, and a welcoming address by Roger Strauch, president of the Mosse Foundation and step-nephew of historian George L. Mosse, the first panel took the audience on an imaginary tour through the Schenkendorf estate. Claudia Marwede-Dengg reminded us of the symbolic significance that came with the possession of an estate like Schenkendorf. Its purchase elevated the owner to a quasi-aristocratic status and conferred various social privileges. For centuries, Jews were prohibited from buying private property. Schenkendorf thus represented the pinnacle of socio-economic success for the Mosses. In a similar vein, the talk by Luisa Renée Mann and Merle von Mach emphasized the social advancement manifested in the Mosse estate. A photo of its entrance hall was printed in the 1929 publication Berlin’s Rise to Metropolis, published by the Club of Berlin Merchants and Industrialists—a detail that shows the degree to which German-Jewish families like the Mosses had been accepted as an inseparable part of the nation’s economic and cultural life.
The second panel introduced the audience to four more German-Jewish art patrons. Esther Sabelus started with a biographical sketch of the coal tycoon Fritz von Friedlaender-Fuld (1858-1917), whose Lanke Castle welcomed businessmen, princes, and diplomats alike. One generation later, a similarly illustrious list of visitors, which included, among others, Max Liebermann (1847-1935), Max Pechstein (1881-1955), and Thomas Mann (1875-1955), frequented the Schweizerhaus of the “red financier” Hugo Simon (1880-1950). In her talk, Nina Senger noted the liberal spirit which could be found at Simon’s estate; a spirit that was irrevocably destroyed with the owner’s emigration from Nazi Germany in 1933. Manfred Uhlitz continued with a presentation about the billionaire couple Johanna (1859-1929) and Eduard Arnhold (1849-1925), who purchased the sumptuous Hirschfelde Manor at the turn of the century. A portrayal of Eduard Simon (1864-1929) and his private life between his city mansion and his rural hunting lodge, presented by Olaf Matthes, completed this section of the workshop.
The panels, and the following discussion, situated Schenkendorf Manor in its historical context and allowed for insightful comparisons between German-Jewish patrons and their art collections. For the older generation, which included Mosse, Arnholh, and Friedlaender, the display of art had an important representative purpose. Their collections, which focused on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, revealed a relatively conservative taste, signaling their owners’ identification with German bourgeois and nationalist values (Mosse apparently collected all but French artists). Hugo Simon, as well as Friedlaender’s daughter Marie-Anne von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (1892-1973), in contrast, belonged to a later cohort of Jewish art collectors who deliberately embraced twentieth-century avant-garde movements and became benefactors of many progressive artists during the Weimar Republic.
A particularly stimulating aspect of the workshop was the observation that Jewish country houses, and their art collections, were not as private as they might seem at first glance. Their remoteness rendered them ideal places for all sorts of encounters: with friends and family, but also with famed artists, business partners, and politicians. Moreover, it was noted that their manors brought upper-class German Jews into close contact with the surrounding rural population. Estates like Hugo Simon’s Schweizerhaus, to which an agricultural enterprise was attached, were, in fact, major employers and functioned as cultural centers in the local communities. The imposing bronze deer, which adorned Arnhold’s Hirschfelde Manor, serves as a beloved landmark of the eponymous hamlet until this very day. What did such an unlikely proximity mean for the rise of antisemitism before 1933? Further research, especially one that engages with local archives and private collections, will hopefully deepen our understanding of how these far-off sites contributed to the emergence—and the end—of a short-lived German-Jewish symbiosis.
Programm/Program:
09.30 – 10:00: Empfang / Reception (Getränke / Beverages)
10:00 – 10:05: Eröffnung / Opening (Meike Hoffmann)
10:05 – 10:15: Grußbotschaft im Namen der Mosse Familie / Welcome Message on Behalf of the Mosse Family (Roger Strauch)
10:15 – 10:25: Einführung in MARI und Vorstellung des Forschungsteams / Presentation of MARI and Introduction of the Research Team (Meike Hoffmann)
10:25 – 10:45: Die Familie Mosse und das Rittergut Schenkendorf / The Mosse Family and Their Schenkendorf Manor (Claudia Marwede-Dengg)
10:45 – 10:55: Rittergut Schenkendorf im Spiegel überlieferter Fotografien / Schenkendorf Manor in the Light of Historical Photos (Luisa Renée Mann, Merle von Mach)
10:55 – 11:15: Q&A / Diskussion / Discussion (Moderation / Chair Meike Hoffmann)
11:15 – 11:45: Pause / Break (Snacks und Getränke / Snacks and Beverages)
11:45 – 11:55: Vorstellung der geladenen Vortragenden / Introduction of the Invited Experts (Meike Hoffmann)
11:55 – 12:15: Vom Pariser Platz ins märkische Schloß Lanke. Fritz von Friedlaender-Fuld und Marie-Anne von Goldschmidt-Rothschild / From Pariser Platz to Lanke Castle in Brandenburg. Fritz von Friedlaender-Fuld and Marie-Anne von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (Esther Sabelus)
12:15 – 12:35: Weltentraum und Arbeitsraum. Hugo Simon, das Schweizer Haus und die Simon’schen Anlagen / World Dream and Working Space: Hugo Simon, the Schweizer Haus and the Simon‘schen Anlagen (Nina Senger)
12:35 – 12:55: Eduard Arnhold und sein Rittergut Hirschfelde / Eduard Arnhold and His Hirschfelde Manor (Manfred Uhlitz)
12:55 – 13:15: Eduard Simon – Sammler und Jäger / Eduard Simon – Art Collector and Hunter (Olaf Matthes)
13:15 – 13:45: Pause / Break (Snacks und Getränke / Snacks and Beverages)
13:45 – 14:15: Diskussion mit den Vortragenden / Discussion with the Experts (Moderation / Chair Meike Hoffmann)
14:15 – 14:45: Diskussion mit dem Publikum / Discussion with the Audience (Moderation / Chair Meike Hoffmann)
14:45 – 15:00: Resümee / Conclusion (Jan Thomas Köhler)
Participants:
Dr. Meike Hoffmann (FUB, MARI, Leiterin)
Jan Thomas Köhler M.A. (Berlin, Helbing Art Research Project, Wiss. Leiter)
Merle von Mach (FUB, MARI, Stud. Hilfskraft)
Luisa Renée Mann (FUB, MARI, Stud. Hilfskraft)
Dr. Claudia Marwede-Dengg (FUB, MARI, Wiss. Mitarbeiterin)
Dr. Olaf Matthes (Hamburg, Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte, Kurator)
Esther Sabelus M.A. (FUB, MARI, Wiss. Mitarbeiterin)
Nina Senger M.A. (Berlin, Kunsthistorikerin, Provenance Research)
Roger Strauch (USA, Berkley (CA), The Roda Group)
Dr. Manfred Uhlitz (Berlin, Verein für die Geschichte Berlins e.V., Vorsitzender)
Conference Abstract:
Deutsch: Zum Selbstverständnis Berliner Sammlerschichten der Wirtschaftselite im deutschen Kaiserreich gehörte der Besitz von Landhäusern in naher Lage zu ihren zentralen Wirkungsorten. Im Unterschied zu den Stadtresidenzen als geschäftlich-gesellschaftliche Mittelpunkte, waren die Landhäuser den Familien und engen Bekanntenkreisen vorbehalten. Die Einrichtungen und dort präsentierten Teile der Kunstsammlungen bieten uns wichtige Hinweise auf die kulturelle Identität der Hausherrinnen und Hausherren, sind in ihrer funktionalen Besonderheit bisher jedoch selten Gegenstand der Forschung gewesen. Aufgrund der privateren Nutzung sind von den Innenräumen der Landhäuser weit weniger Quellen überliefert als zu den häufig auch öffentlich zugänglichen Stadthäusern. Im Falle des Ritterguts Schenkendorf hat die Mosse-Familie nur eine einzige Fotografie vom Eingangsbereich publizieren lassen.
Im Rahmen des Workshops soll daher versucht werden, durch den direkten Vergleich der Repräsentationsformen von Kunst- und Kulturobjekten in den Landhäusern beispielgebend jüdischer sowie konvertierter Vertreterinnen und Vertreter des Berliner Mäzenatentums Muster und damals gängige Gepflo- genheiten zu erkennen, die der Rekonstruktion des jeweiligen Kunstbesitzes sowie der Sammlungskonzepte dienlich sind. Der Workshop wird von der Mosse Art Research Initiative (MARI) veranstaltet, die seit 2017 als erstes vom Deutschen Zentrum Kulturgutverluste gefördertes Projekt zur Rekonstruktion einer Privatsammlung, Provenienzforschung in Kooperation mit den Nachfahren von Opfern der NS-Verfolgung durchführt. Der Workshop wird von der Mosse-Foundation (USA, Berkeley (CA) finanziert. Es ist geplant die Beiträge und Ergebnisse der Diskussion auf dem MARI-Portal zu publizieren.
English: Owning country houses in close proximity to their central places of activity was part of the self-image of the Berlin business elite in the German Empire. In contrast to the city residences as the heart of their business and social circles, the country houses were reserved for families and friends. The parts of the art collections presented there, offer us important clues to the cultural identity of the house owners, but their functional specificity has rarely been the subject of research to date. Due to their more private use, far fewer sources have survived on the interiors of the country houses and the display of the art works there than on the city houses, which were often open to the public. In the case of the Schenkendorf manor, the Mosse family only had a single photograph of the entrance area published.
By directly comparing the forms of representation of art and cultural objects in the country houses of leading Jewish and converted Berlin patrons, the workshop will attempt to identify patterns and common practices of the time that are useful for reconstructing the respective art holdings and collection concepts. The workshop is organized by the Mosse Art Research Initiative (MARI), which has been conducting provenance research in cooperation with the descendants of victims of Nazi persecution since 2017 as the first project funded by the German Lost Art Foundation to reconstruct a private collection. The workshop is funded by the Mosse Foundation (USA, Berkeley (CA). It is planned to publish the contributions and results of the discussion on the MARI portal.
Ludwig Decke is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at UW-Madison, focusing on the intersection of Jewish and modern European history. His research explores how democracies in twentieth-century Central and Western Europe have grappled with issues surrounding ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. In his dissertation project, Ludwig intertwines two stories that are usually considered in separate terms: Jewish responses to antisemitism in postwar Western Europe and the antiracist claims of other racialized populations, namely Black Europeans, migrant workers, Roma, Muslims, and refugees. It asks how, after the Holocaust, Jews participated in local, national, and supranational efforts to end racial and religious discrimination in an increasingly multicultural Europe.