Toni Aktuaryus (born 1893 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

; died March 1946 in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

) was a French art dealer.

Early life

Aktuaryus was a son of the art dealer and gallery owner J. F. Aktuaryus ( Kunstsalon Aktuaryus), who was active in Wiesbaden at least since 1905.

Art dealing and gallery owner

In 1924 he founded the Aktuaryus Gallery in Zurich,. which offered many artists an exhibition opportunity in its rooms during the Second World War. Aktuaryus was advised, among others, by the art historian

Gotthard Jedlicka Gotthard Jedlicka (6 May 1899 in Zurich — 9 November 1965 in Duisburg) was a Swiss art historian and writer. Biography Jedlicka studied art history in Zurich, Grenoble and Paris and became a teacher in a secondary school in Winterthur, canto ...

, who, for example, also wrote articles for the gallery's monthly magazine "Galerie und Sammler" (Gallery and Collector), which was published from 1932/33. An important Aktuaryus client was arms manufacturer and art collector,

Emil Georg Bührle Emil Georg Bührle (31 August 1890 in Pforzheim – November 26, 1956 in Zürich) was a controversial German arms manufacturer, art collector and patron who emigrated to Switzerland. His art collection is now housed in the Foundation E.G. Bühr ...

. Starting in 1936, Bührle purchased paintings by Corot, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley and Cézanne from him. In 1938 Bührle purchased "Porte Saint-Martin, Paris" and in 1943 Bührle purchased "La Butte Pinson" by

Maurice Utrillo Maurice Utrillo (), born Maurice Valadon; 26 December 1883 – 5 November 1955), was a French painter of the School of Paris who specialized in cityscapes. Born in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous painte ...

from him. The lack of provenance has been a subject of controversy. Aktuaryus was buried at the Binz cemetery on April 1, 1946.

Restitution claims for Nazi-looted art and forced sales

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, some of the artworks that Aktuaryus had sold were the object of restitution claims by Jewish families that had been persecuted and expropriated under the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

. Matisse's ''Odalisque with Tambourine (Harmony in Blue''), which Aktuarys had sold on December 18, 1942, for CHF 14,000 to Emil Bührle, Zurich was restituted on June 3, 1948, to Paul Rosenberg. Research is ongoing concerning the provenances of artworks from the collection of Alfred and Tekla Hess.

Literature

* Elisabeth Eggimann-Gerber: ''Am Puls der Kunstwelt: der Schweizer Kunstmarkt, die Anfänge des internationalen Kunsthandels und der Galerist und Kunsthändler Toni Aktuaryus''. In'': Jüdische Sammler und ihr Beitrag zur Kultur der Moderne / Jewish collectors and their contribution to modern culture.'' Heidelberg, S. 255–268.

External links

* Ernst Morgenthaler
''Gedenkblatt für Toni Aktuaryus.''
In: ''Schweizer Kunst / Art suisse / Arte svizzera.'' Oktober 1946 * Katarina Holländer
''Juden und Jüdinnen in der bildenden Kunst in der Schweiz.''
Schweizerischer Israelitischer Gemeindebund, 4. Dezember 2009
''Geschichte von Omanut''

References