June 11th 2024.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, a renowned German expressionist, created a captivating painting in 1911 called "Tanz im Varieté". It depicted a black man and a white woman joyfully dancing the cakewalk, a popular African-American dance in Europe at the time. However, due to his inclusion on the Nazi list of "degenerate art", the painting was believed to have been lost or destroyed by the Nazis during the Second World War.
But just recently, this lost masterpiece resurfaced and made headlines as it was sold for a staggering amount at an auction. The oil on canvas painting, which had only been seen in black-and-white photos taken by Kirchner himself, was a long-awaited discovery for art historians. It was hailed as a "sensation" by experts, considering it had been missing for over eight decades.
It was revealed that the painting had been owned by a jewellery designer during the war. To protect it from bombing and the Nazis, the owner kept it in a heavy duty crate on a farm in the countryside. When the village was taken by French troops in 1945, the crate was found and forcefully opened, causing damage to the painting. However, the soldiers left the crate and the painting behind, allowing it to be rescued and restored.
In 1980, the owner gave the painting to his two children as a gift for his 75th birthday. He instructed them to one day return it to the public eye. The damage caused by a bullet and a bayonet, which can still be seen on the reverse side of the canvas, did not deter buyers from bidding at the auction. In fact, Tanz im Varieté sold for an astonishing €6,958,000 in Berlin, more than double the estimated price of €2,000,000.
The spokesperson for the auction house, Ketterer Kunst, stated, "More than 100 years have passed since the painting was last seen in public. Now, it is finally back and can take its rightful place in art history." The painting had been exhibited at Paul Cassirer in Berlin in 1923, but shortly after, it disappeared from the scene, leaving art enthusiasts puzzled for years. Its reappearance was truly a remarkable event.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, the talented artist behind Tanz im Varieté, died in 1938 in Switzerland. While his death was initially believed to be a suicide, historians now speculate that he was shot by someone else. The theories surrounding his death include his partner, neighbouring farmers, or local Nazis. Nevertheless, his legacy lives on through his magnificent paintings, and Tanz im Varieté will now be remembered as one of his greatest masterpieces.
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