Documenting the reverse side of paintings

The aim of the project was to take photographs of features found on the reverse side of paintings and map these. This mainly concerned acquisitions made by the Staatsgalerie in the period 1933–1945. In addition, it involved artworks for which a claim had already been made or those that the gallery’s provenance researcher had classified as particularly suspicious for various reasons.

A total of 139 backs of paintings were recorded. In consultation with Alexander Zeisberg, the former IT officer at the Bureau for Provenance Research, an overall photograph of the entire reverse side was taken first of all and then close-ups were taken of individual stamps, labels and inscriptions. There were between four and 44 close-ups per artwork. The photographs were taken by qualified restorer Miriam von Gersum.

It became apparent that the information on the reverse side of the paintings could only be interpreted by referring to information from the files and exhibition catalogs. Often only numbers can be seen, and these can only be correctly assigned if they are reconciled with other details. On the other hand, exhibition labels, especially those from Switzerland, frequently show the name of the former owner and thus provide valuable information for provenance research.

One problem associated with this type of project is the fact that numerous paintings have been lined during the 20th century in order to reinforce the canvas. This causes many provenance markings on the reverse side to be lost forever.

Further documentation of the reverse side of artworks as part of provenance research at the Staatsgalerie is likely to be restricted to individual cases.

(c) Staatsgalerie Stuttgart