Dr. Bernhard Sprengel (17 April 1899 – 22 January 1985) was a German chocolate manufacturer and modern art collector.

Life

Sprengel studied at the Goethe school and later took courses in political science. In May 1919 he became one of the first new members of the ''Corps Holsatia'' following the First World War. Then, after completing commercial training in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, he took over the management of the chocolate factory ''B. Sprengel & Co.'' in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. Bernhard Sprengel had already developed a passion for 20th-century art and he had begun a private collection of paintings and sculpture, including works by

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is kn ...

Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernist, he was associated with several major ...

Macke Macke is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Andreas Macke (born 1962), German physicist *August Macke (1887–1914), German Expressionist painter * Kenneth A. Macke (1938–2008), chairman and chief executive of the Dayton Hudson ...

, Beckmann,

Marc Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

, Klee and

Feininger Feininger is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Karl Feininger (1844-1922), German-American musician, father of Lyonel * Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956), German-American painter, caricaturist, and comic strip artist *Andrea ...

. Some of these works were

Nazi plunder Nazi plunder (german: Raubkunst) was the stealing of art and other items which occurred as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Nazi Party in Germany. The looting of Polish and Jewish property was a k ...

, sourced via art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt. On the occasion of his 70th birthday in 1969, Bernhard Sprengel donated his complete collection of the city of Hanover and made 2.5 million marks available for the building of a museum. The

Sprengel Museum Sprengel Museum is a museum of modern art in Hanover, Lower Saxony, holding one of the most significant collections of modern art in Germany. It is located in a building situated adjacent to the Masch Lake (german: Maschsee) approximately south ...

was opened ten years later in 1979. In recognition of his contribution, the city of Hanover appointed Bernhard Sprengel an honorary citizen in 1977.

References

Nordstadt-online: Bernhard Sprengel (translated by Google)
1899 births 1985 deaths Businesspeople from Hanover People from the Province of Hanover German art collectors 20th-century art collectors Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany {{Germany-business-bio-stub