The Louvre in Paris is due to return 258 objects from the bequest of the German-born arts patron and socialite Adèle de Rothschild after they mistakenly ended up in the collection of the Paris museum. The items will be returned to the Fondation des Artistes culture organisation.
The mix-up was uncovered in 2019 following a cross-inventory of works in the Louvre collections tallying with Rothschild’s bequest. Laurence Maynier, the director of the foundation, told Le Monde newspaper earlier this week that the inclusion of these works in the Louvre's holdings was “unjustified”.
According to the Rothschild archive, following the sudden death of her husband, Salomon James, Adèle largely withdrew from the world, cloistering herself in the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, which she built at 11 rue Berryer in Paris. She died in Paris on 11 March 1922 after a bitter dispute with her daughter who chose to marry outside the Jewish faith.
“The rift between Adèle and her daughter was never healed and much of her collection of Jewish art was bequeathed to the Musée de Cluny; other collections were bequeathed to the Louvre Museum, the Museum of Decorative Art in Paris and the National Library of France,” the archive explains in a statement.
Before her death, De Rothschild bequeathed her private Parisian mansion in rue Berryer to the French state, with the stipulation that it be turned into a museum for the arts under the name Fondation Salomon de Rothschild. She also stated that her cabinet of art curiosities remain intact. The Fondation des Artistes, which helps fund artists and art schools, is based at the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild.
In 2019, the Fondation des Artistes recommended that the Louvre participated in the joint inventory. The inventory, completed in 2020, established that 258 works from the Rothschild’s cabinet had been included in the Louvre's collections, specifically objets d'art decorative works and Islamic art pieces.
"Some objects from the cabinet of curiosities had joined the Louvre as early as 1923, others had been deposited there at the turn of the 2000s to protect them during work on the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild," said Maynier.
According to Le Monde, as part of the new arrangement the Louvre will keep on display around 30 pieces for five years and also receive 104 items retained by the foundation that were originally part of its Rothschild inventory.
The Louvre was approached for comment.
