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

Adolf Hölzel

Period Produced

20th century

Object Type

drawing

Physical Description: Wax crayon and graphite on thin, smooth wove paper (top edge perforated)

Material

Technique

Geographic Reference

German

Production Reason

Pictorial drawing

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

Städel Museum

Departement

Department of Prints and Drawings

Collection

Städelsches Kunstinstitut

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: