Carl Spitzweg's Justitia (1857)

This page is dedicated to Justitia, painted by Carl Spitzweg in 1857 and sold under duress in 1937 by the owners, Leo and Else Bendel, in Nazi Germany. The artwork was only restituted in 2019, after having spent almost a century hanging in the official residence of Germany's Presidents.

Understanding the history and journeys of this painting within the context of the larger project,  Mapping Provenance: Navigating the Narratives of Nazi-Looted Artworks , has allowed for the stories of both Justitia and the Bendels to be brought to the surface.

In 2020, justice made the headlines when Carl Spitzweg's Justitia (also known as Fiat Justitia) was sold at auction in Munich, almost 80 years after its owners, Leo and Else Bendel, had been forced to sell it when emigrating to Vienna from Berlin.

The painting's provenance had only really been brought to light when historian, Dr. Monika Tatzkow, co-authored the 500-page handbook, Nazi Looted Art - Handbuch Kunstrestitution weltweit, with property lawyer, Gunnar Schnabel, in 2006. The book, featuring a chapter on the Bendels and Justitia on the cover prompted a call for action, and in 2007 the German Federal Ministry of Finance agreed to return it. It took another 12 years before the painting was finally restituted to the Bendels' heirs.

With the sale of the artwork, and the attempts to right the wrong of its loss due to Nazi persecution, light has been shed on the histories of Justitia and the Bendels—outlined below in two timelines.

Justitia features the personified figure of justice, with the traditional scales, sword and blindfold. In this case, Lady Justice is on a cracked pedestal in the foreground, and beyond the statue, a seemingly suspicious soldier or policeman is lurking in the shadows. Known for his humor, Carl Spitzweg, is likely to have created this work as an allegorical depiction of the legal system at the time, in response to the Revolution of 1848 in Germany.

The painting has undergone many changes to its name over the course of its history, from the original title, Scene auf der Strasse (Scene on the Street) given by the artist, to Justitia und Polizeydiener (Justice and the Police Scout) to Fiat Justitia, and later Das Auge des Gesetzes (The Eyes of the Law) (Schuster, 2020). Considering the painting's eventual story throughout the 20th century, the irony of its imagery and name take on an additional significance.

Given the focus of  Mapping Provenance: Navigating Narratives of Nazi-Looted Artworks , the map, here, specifically looks at the provenance of Justitia in the context of World War II. It provides a summary of its travels in exclusive terms of changing ownership from 1937 to 2020 (and excludes prior provenance as well as temporary exhibitions within this period).

To trace the journey of Justitia, provenance was gathered through several records, including information and images provided by the Neumeister auction house, as well as from U.S. and German databases, and ultimately, the invaluable research done by Dr. Tatzkow. Some of these sources can be found in images and screenshots within the map.

For a more detailed explanation of the construction process for this map, please visit the section dedicated to the Justitia case study on the homepage for  Mapping Provenance: Navigating Narratives of Nazi-Looted Artworks .

Bauer, N. (2020, September 30). Maria Almas Dietrich. Lexikon der österreichischen Provenienzforschung.  https://www.lexikon-provenienzforschung.org/en/almas-dietrich-maria .

Brown, K. (2020, May 5). The Nazis wanted to put this painting in a museum dedicated to Hitler. Now it’s the star lot of one of the first live auctions since lockdown. Artnet News.  https://news.artnet.com/market/neumeister-carl-spitzweg-1852731 .

Hawley, C. (2007, January 31). 'Nazi looted art': New handbook helps descendents reclaim Nazi loot. Der Spiegel International.  https://www.spiegel.de/international/nazi-looted-art-new-handbook-helps-descendents-reclaim-nazi-loot-a-463423.html .

Kunstverwaltung des Bundes: Provenienzdatenbank.Bund. (n.d.). Spitzweg, Carl | Fiat Justitia.  https://kunstverwaltung.bund.de/SharedDocs/Provenienzen/DE/9000_9999/9629.html .

Looted Art: The Central Registry of Information on Looted Cultural Property 1933-1945. (n.d.) Web resources: Galerie Heinemann.  https://www.lootedart.com/P43T03791231 .

National Gallery of Art. (n.d.). Munich Central Collecting Point Archive.  https://www.nga.gov/research/library/imagecollections/core-collection/munich-central.html. 

Neumeister Münchener Kunstauktionshaus. (n.d.). Carl Spitzweg - Das Auge des Gesetzes (Justitia).  https://www.neumeister.com/kunstwerksuche/kunstdatenbank/ergebnis/400-246/.  

Neumeister Münchener Kunstauktionshaus. (n.d.). Provenance research with Neumeister.  https://www.neumeister.com/en/service/provenienzforschung-restitution/ .

Salzwelten Altaussee. (n.d.). Discover & experience.  https://www.salzwelten.at/en/altaussee/discover-experience .

Schuster, R. (2020). "Carl Spitzweg – ‘The Eye of the Law (Justitia).'" In Katrin Stoll (Ed.), Justiz-wesen Carl Spitzweg "Das Auge des Gesetzes (Justitia)" (pp. 10-25). Neumeister Münchener Kunstauktionshaus.

Spindler, S. (2020, February 28). Spitzwegs späte gerechtigkeit. Weltkunst.  https://www.weltkunst.de/auktionen/2020/02/spitzwegs-spaete-gerechtigkeit .

Stoll, K. (Ed.). (2020). Justiz-wesen Carl Spitzweg "Das Auge des Gesetzes (Justitia)" Neumeister Münchener Kunstauktionshaus.

Tatzkow, M. (2010). "Leo Bendel." In Melissa Müller and Monika Tatzkow (Eds.), Lost lives, lost art: Jewish collectors, Nazi art theft and the quest for justice (pp. 60-71). Vendome Press.

Tatzkow, M. (2020). "Justitia in Jewish Ownership: Leo Bendel." In Katrin Stoll (Ed.), Justiz-wesen Carl Spitzweg "Das Auge des Gesetzes (Justitia)" (pp. 40-54). Neumeister Münchener Kunstauktionshaus.

Tourismus & Congress GmbH: Region Bonn/Rhein-Sieg/Ahrweiler (n.d.). Villa Hammerschmidt.  https://www.bonn-region.de/sightseeing-and-culture/villa-hammerschmidt-en.html.