Benoit Oppenheim the Elder

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Benoit Oppenheim with his sisters Anna Oppenheim, the wife of Hugo Oppenheim , and Marie née Oppenheim (1844–1932), wife of Ernst von Leyden
Villa Oppenheim, Heringsdorf (2015)

Benoit Oppenheim the Elder (born August 25, 1842 in Königsberg (Prussia) , † May 5, 1931 in Berlin ) was a German banker and art collector .

Life

Benoit Oppenheim came from the Oppenheim family, related to the Mendelssohns and Warsawers , who were initially based in Königsberg in Prussia and later in Berlin. He was the only son of the banker Rudolph Oppenheim (1811–1871). His mother Dorothee (1818-1852) was born Heimann. His grandfather was the banker Martin Wilhelm Oppenheim , who had the Palais Oppenheim and the Villa Rosa built in Dresden .

banker

At a young age, Oppenheim entered his father's banking business, R. Oppenheim & Sohn at Behrenstrasse 54, which he later took over. In 1871 the R. Oppenheim & Sohn bank was a co-founder of the Berliner Bankverein , which was taken over by Deutsche Bank in 1876. In 1913 Benoit Oppenheim had assets of 7.5 million marks .

Villas Oppenheim

1871–1872 Oppenheim had the architect Julius Hennicke (in Von der Hude & Hennicke's office ) build a villa on Bellevuestrasse in the Tiergarten district .

In 1883 he had the Villa Oppenheim built as a summer house in Heringsdorf , which is one of the most beautiful on the island of Usedom . "The island served as an informal meeting place for business people for secret agreements," said historian Fritz Spalink. Benoit Oppenheim met regularly with other greats in the banking world in this summer villa, Delbrückstrasse 11. One of his neighbors was Adelbert Delbrück , with whom Oppenheim was involved in the big stock market crash in 1872 . Expropriated by the National Socialists , the Jewish Oppenheim family had to watch their property function as a local NS headquarters in 1935. Stasi boss Erich Mielke later spent the summers here.

Art collector

Benoit Oppenheim was not only a banker, but also a well-known art collector. He had a spectacular collection of medieval and late medieval art from Germany, Flanders and France. Works of art were displayed everywhere in his Berlin property. Christian Madonnas could even be found in the billiard room. As a connoisseur, he brought out large catalogs of his art collection, which he himself compiled in accordance with common scientific standards. He also advised Wilhelm von Bode on the expert commission of the Berlin museums on acquisitions.

Oppenheim sold many pieces, probably due to inflation . Today they form the basis of the famous collection of Justizrat Bollert in the newly built wing of the Bavarian National Museum .

He died in 1931 at Tiergartenstrasse 8a in Berlin.

family

Benoit Oppenheim married Lina Louise, born in May 1870. von Saucken-Tarputschen , daughter of Ernst von Saucken-Tarputschen , in the Trempen administrative center . They had four children:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ R. Oppenheim & Son . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1874, part 1, p. 600. "Owner Benoit Oppenheim, Emil Lehweß".
  2. ^ R. Oppenheim & Son . In: Berlin Address Book , 1882, Part 1, p 600. "owner Benoit Oppenheim, Emil Lehweß".
  3. ^ Karl Helfferich: Georg von Siemens A picture of life from Germany's great times. First volume. Springer Verlag, ISBN 978-3-642-89822-8 , p. 291
  4. ↑ Julius Hennicke , on deutschefotothek.de, artist data set, accessed July 22, 2015
  5. ^ Fritz Spalink: Heringsdorf stories. Stories and history about the Heringsdorf seaside resort on the island of Usedom. Werner Molik (Ed.), Heringsdorf 2011.
  6. ↑ Sophisticated spirit in the golden age . Westfalenpost.de, accessed June 27, 2015
  7. ^ Original pictures in wood, stone, ivory etc. from the Benoit Oppenheim collection, Berlin . Karl W. Hiersemann, Leipzig, 1911
  8. ^ Oppenheim, Benoit . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1931, part 1, p. 2434. “Rentier, W 10 Tiergartenstr. 8a ".
  9. ↑ Christian Tilitzk: The University of Königsberg: Your story of the Empire until the fall of the province of East Prussia (1871-1945) . Volume 1: 1871-1918. Oldenburg Akademieverlag, 2012, ISBN 3-05-004312-1 , p. 56
personal data
SURNAME Oppenheim, Benoit the Elder
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Oppenheim, Benoit; Oppenheim, Benoît Alexander (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German banker and art collector
DATE OF BIRTH August 25, 1842
PLACE OF BIRTH Königsberg (Prussia)
DATE OF DEATH May 5, 1931
Place of death Berlin