Nativity, Adolf Hölzel
Adolf Hölzel
Nativity
DE
Back to top

Adolf Hölzel

Nativity, 1925


Blatt
325 x 416 mm
Physical Description
Wax crayon and graphite on thin, smooth wove paper (top edge perforated)
Inventory Number
16111
Object Number
16111 Z
Acquisition
Acquired in 1948 as a donation from the heirs of the Carl Hagemann estate
Status
Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

Texts

About the Acquisition

From 1900 onwards, the Frankfurt chemist and industrialist Carl Hagemann (1867‒1940) assembled one of the most important private collections of modern art. It included numerous paintings, drawings, watercolours and prints, especially by members of the artist group “Die Brücke”. After Carl Hagemann died in an accident during the Second World War, the then Städel director Ernst Holzinger arranged for Hagemann’s heirs to evacuate his collection with the museum’s collection. In gratitude, the family donated almost all of the works on paper to the Städel Museum in 1948. Further donations and permanent loans as well as purchases of paintings and watercolours from the Hagemann estate helped to compensate for the losses the museum had suffered in 1937 as part of the Nazi’s “Degenerate Art” campaign. Today, the Hagemann Collection forms the core of the Städel museum’s Expressionist collection.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Nativity
Draughtsman
Period Produced
Object Type
Physical Description
Wax crayon and graphite on thin, smooth wove paper (top edge perforated)
Material
Technique
Geographic Reference
Production Reason
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Nicht bezeichnet
Captions Added Later
Verso unten links Stempel des Städelschen Kunstinstituts, Frankfurt am Main (Lugt 2356), mit zugehöriger Inventarnummer
Watermark
  • Nicht vorhanden
Work Catalogues
  • Nicht bei Venzmer

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Acquired in 1948 as a donation from the heirs of the Carl Hagemann estate

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre
Persons Shown
Illustrated Passage
  • Bibel, Neues Testament

Iconclass

Primary
  • 73B13 Mary, Joseph and the new-born Christ (Nativity)
  • 25G3 trees
  • 23R14 night
Secondary
  • 24D stars
  • 22C4 colours, pigments, and paints

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
Carl Hagemann (1867-1940), Frankfurt am Main
Nachlass Carl Hagemann, Frankfurt am Main, 1940
Schenkung der Erben an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 1948.

Information

Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.

The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.

Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known:

  • the type of acquisition and/or the way the object changed hands
  • the owner's name and place of residence
  • the date on which it changed hands

The successive ownership records are separated from each other by a semicolon.

Gaps in the record of a provenance are indicated by the placeholder “…”. Unsupported information is listed in square brackets.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the museum at .

More to discover

Contact

Do you have any suggestions, questions or information about this work?

Last update

11.09.2023