Ludwig Bretschneider (1909-1988)

Von der Hostientaube zur Benin-Bronze – Kunsthandel und Netzwerke

Abstract

On February 11, 1988, the art dealer Ludwig Bretschneider passed away. The Weltkunst dedicated an obituary to him, which emphasized on his success in trading non-European art and his commitment to the Munich art and antiques fair but asked no critical questions about his life or from which networks he benefited. In 1932, Bretschneider smuggled the eucharistic dove and other art treasures from Salzburg Cathedral across the border to Germany and sold them illegally. His conviction led to headlines in the press. During the National Socialist era, Bretschneider worked with the art dealer Maria Dietrich (1892-1971), who sold art to the “Sonderauftrag Linz”. Bretschneider acquired paintings and antiques from Jewish owners. In his dealings with representatives of the Nazi regime such as Martin Bormann (1900-1945), he achieved sales figures that far exceeded his previous business volume. Despite his closeness to the Nazi regime, Bretschneider portrayed himself as an opponent of the regime in his denazification hearings. After the war, Bretschneider made a name for himself as a dealer in “exotic art”. In his dealings with ethnological museums, Bretschneider profited from the colonial power imbalance of the imperial era. He offered his goods to museums in exchange for items that had entered the museum collections because of colonial injustice. In individual cases, the authenticity of his goods was called into question. This article examines for the first time the life of Ludwig Bretschneider, who was characterized as a Nazi sympathizer by an auction house in 2023.