[1] What is your opinion of the Emil Bührle Collection?
The Bührle Collection reflects the personal taste of an art lover. It contains works of art from Gothic wood sculpture to early 20th century Picasso and Modigliani. Bührle was not interested in contemporary art. The three portraits by Cezanne are outstanding: "Self-Portrait with palette", "Boy with a red waistcoat" and "Madame Cezanne in an armchair". The Van Gogh group with the Sower from Arles also fulfils the highest demands. The Impressionist paintings by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas are of the highest calibre. Among the Old Masters, the two portraits of men by Franz Hals and Ingres deserve special mention.
Bührle sought contact with the Kunsthaus. He was on the board and a member of the acquisitions committee. He financed purchases of artworks and the still very useful exhibition building.
[2] What do you expect from an art museum like the Kunsthaus Zurich when dealing with the Emil Bührle Collection?
The Kunsthaus is an institution in which works of art from all centuries are exhibited. It is a "Musée des Beaux-Arts" - a museum of Fine Arts. Museums of this kind can be found all over the world. The most important ones are in Washington, New York, London, Paris, Vienna, Madrid, Florence; and many more, whose task is to enable visitors to view art.
In all of these museums, works can be found where the origin is not beyond all ethical and moral doubt.
For the study of the past and the history of the country, there are the so-called "Museums of History". In my opinion, it is wrong to mix and link criticism of a collector with the valuation of the artworks in his collection.
[3] In your view, how did Switzerland act in the context of the Second World War (before, during and after) and what are the consequences to this day?
It is impossible for us today to judge the period in Switzerland around the Second World War. The fact is that Switzerland was unbelievably lucky to be spared from the war. Germany was a dictatorship from 1933 to 1945 and occupied most European countries after 1940. To this day, the result is the German guilt of its crime against the Jews, which cannot be erased by restitution of artworks.
If Germany today, in contradiction to the Washington Principles, restitutes paintings from its museums - such as Franz Mark's foxes - this is an exclusively German procedure. Switzerland should not allow itself to be determined by German guidelines.
Only "works of art seized under Nazi government" should be restituted. The art trade in free, democratically governed countries - as Switzerland was at the time - is not affected by this.
