In the context of this artwork, discuss the Nazi interest of the Provenance.
In 1935, Count Jaromir Czernin had tried to sell the painting to Andrew W. Mellon, but the Austrian government prohibited the export of the painting. After the annexation of Austria, Philipp Reemtsma with the help of Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring attempted to acquire the painting. The transaction to a private person was refused being cultural heritage. It was finally acquired by Adolf Hitler for the collection of the Linzer Museum at a price of 1.82 million Reichsmark through his agent, Hans Posse on 20 November 1940. The painting was rescued from a salt mine near Altaussee at the end of World War II in 1945, where it was preserved from Allied bombing raids, with other works of art. The painting was escorted to Vienna from Munich by Andrew Ritchie, chief of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFA&A) for Austria, who transported it by locking himself and the painting in a train compartment.The Americans presented the painting to the Austrian Government in late 1945 since the Czernin family were deemed to have sold it voluntarily, without undue force from Hitler. The Czernin family made several attempts to claim restitution, each time being rejected, although this played a role in securing an official certification of Hitler's death in 1956. In 1958, Vermeer's The Art of Painting was finally moved from temporary status into the permanent collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. A 1998 restitution law, which pertains to public institutions, bolstered the family's legal position, but the case was rejected again by the Austrian government in 2011.
salt mine Hitler's death annexation of Austria painting Adolf Hitler Hans Posse Allied cultural heritage Austria Reemtsma Czernin family Hermann Göring Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program Linzer Museum Andrew W. Mellon Reichsmark Muse Kunsthistorisches Museum Painting Vienna Altaussee