Defending National Treasures

French Art and Heritage Under Vichy

Nonfiction, History, France
Cover of the book Defending National Treasures by Elizabeth Karlsgodt, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Elizabeth Karlsgodt ISBN: 9780804777827
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: April 7, 2011
Imprint: Stanford University Press Language: English
Author: Elizabeth Karlsgodt
ISBN: 9780804777827
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: April 7, 2011
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Language: English

Defending National Treasures explores the fate of art and cultural heritage during the Nazi occupation of France. The French cultural patrimony was a crucial locus of power struggles between German and French leaders and among influential figures in each country. Karlsgodt examines the preservation policy that the Vichy regime enacted in an assertion of sovereignty over French art museums, historic monuments, and archeological sites. The limits to this sovereignty are apparent from German appropriations of public statues, Jewish-owned art collections, and key "Germanic" works of art from French museums. A final chapter traces the lasting impact of the French wartime reforms on preservation policy. In Defending National Treasures, Karlsgodt introduces the concept of patrimania to reveal examples of opportunism in art preservation. During the war, French officials sought to acquire coveted artwork from Jewish collections for the Louvre and other museums; in the early postwar years, they established a complicated guardianship over unclaimed art recovered from Germany. A cautionary tale for our own times, Defending National Treasures examines the ethical dimensions of museum acquisitions in the ongoing noble quest to preserve great works of art.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Defending National Treasures explores the fate of art and cultural heritage during the Nazi occupation of France. The French cultural patrimony was a crucial locus of power struggles between German and French leaders and among influential figures in each country. Karlsgodt examines the preservation policy that the Vichy regime enacted in an assertion of sovereignty over French art museums, historic monuments, and archeological sites. The limits to this sovereignty are apparent from German appropriations of public statues, Jewish-owned art collections, and key "Germanic" works of art from French museums. A final chapter traces the lasting impact of the French wartime reforms on preservation policy. In Defending National Treasures, Karlsgodt introduces the concept of patrimania to reveal examples of opportunism in art preservation. During the war, French officials sought to acquire coveted artwork from Jewish collections for the Louvre and other museums; in the early postwar years, they established a complicated guardianship over unclaimed art recovered from Germany. A cautionary tale for our own times, Defending National Treasures examines the ethical dimensions of museum acquisitions in the ongoing noble quest to preserve great works of art.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book The Unsettled Sector by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book Rethinking Japanese Public Opinion and Security by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book Islandology by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book Slam School by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book Lead and Disrupt by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book Community at Risk by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book Sweet Talk by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book A City Consumed by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book Enlightened Immunity by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book Reading Colonial Japan by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book Rhinestones, Religion, and the Republic by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book Modern Migrations by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book When the War Came Home by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book Sacramental Poetics at the Dawn of Secularism by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
Cover of the book The Virtues of Abandon by Elizabeth Karlsgodt
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy