The Bavarian State Painting Collections are set to use the internet to disclose the provenance of works purchased during the Nazi era.

The provenance chains of some 1,200 works will now be available online, the Bavarian State Painting Collections announced in Munich on Monday.

Under the keyword “Provenance,” all owners of a work known to the museum will be listed and also how the work of art was acquired in each case.

The publication concerns works of art that were either purchased during the Nazi era or later came into the possession of the Pinakotheken museums from the assets of functionaries of Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP).

Works that came into the possession of museums in this way are often suspected of being looted art and belonging, for example, to Jewish families from whom they were stolen or extorted during the Nazi era.

Putting the provenance chains online is intended to fulfil the demand of the Washington Principles of 1998 and the subsequent joint declaration of 1999 for more transparency in the provenance of works, as the Bavarian State Painting Collections announced.

From 2023 onwards, the provenance of further works from the classical modern period and those acquired after 1945 are also expected to be accessible online. © dpa