Franz Kieslinger

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Franz Kieslinger (* 16th November 1891 in Vienna , † 18th January 1955 ) was an Austrian art historian and art dealer , who on art theft in the era of National Socialism was involved.

Life

Kieslinger was a son of the Ministerialrat Ing. Franz Kieslinger. From 1911 to 1914 he studied art history at the University of Vienna under Josef Strzygowski and Max Dvořák . From 1913 to 1915 he was an extraordinary member of the Institute for Austrian Historical Research . He was then a soldier in the First World War and was seriously wounded as a first lieutenant in the battles of the Piave . He received his doctorate in the history of glass painting in 1919 and worked in the following years as an art historian without finding a permanent job. He therefore worked in the art trade and, if necessary, also worked as an art expert for the Vienna Dorotheum . He published his dissertation as a book and wrote catalog texts for exhibitions and auctions.

After the annexation of Austria on March 12, 1938, Kieslinger was appointed by Leopold Blauensteiner as a sworn appraiser for older art and in September 1938 as manager of the "Aryanized" art trade S. Kende. At that time the owners were Herbert and Melanie Kende, the widow of Samuel Kendes. The art trade was taken over by the Munich art dealer Adolf Weinmüller , in whose interests Kieslinger worked from then on. Kieslinger made an inventory of Fritz Grünbaum's art collection in July 1938 , including 81 works by Egon Schiele , at the time Kieslinger was living in Perchtoldsdorf . His name and directory were later mentioned in connection with restitution issues for Schiele's works, including Dead City III 1911 .

Kieslinger joined the NSDAP on May 1, 1938 , membership no. 7,683,103.

In the spring of 1940 Kieslinger followed SS Colonel Kajetan Mühlmann , for whom he had already worked in Vienna and who had meanwhile organized the art theft in occupied Poland , to the occupied Netherlands . He became an employee of the "Dienststelle Mühlmann" which was newly created there and was appointed by the Reich Commissioner for the Netherlands Arthur Seyß-Inquart as the "collective administrator" for the art objects confiscated from "enemy property". On his behalf, he made an inventory of the collection of the late collector Fritz Mannheimer and informed Hans Posse in early 1941 that the collection was in danger of falling into speculative hands. He arranged for the Mannheimer collection to be relocated to Hohenfurth Abbey . In addition to the highest Nazi functionaries, the German auction houses Lange and Weinmüller were the main buyers of the art treasures collected by the "Dienststelle Mühlmann", and the Dorotheum in Vienna was also supplied.

Kieslinger remained unmolested after the end of National Socialism, he was not questioned, nothing is known about his denazification . He continued to work as a court-sworn art expert and art dealer and primarily advised the collector Rudolf Leopold .

His younger brother was the geologist Alois Kieslinger , who posthumously created his list of publications.

Fonts (selection)

  • Stained glass in Austria, an outline of its history , Vienna: Hölzel, 1922
  • Medieval sculpture in Austria. An outline of their history , Vienna: Österr. Bundesverlag f. Lessons, Science u. Art, 1926
  • Gothic stained glass in Austria until 1450 , Vienna: Amalthea-Verlag, 1928
  • The plastic decoration of the west portal at the Minoriten in Vienna , Vienna: self-published, 1928
  • Medieval sculptures from a Viennese collection , Vienna: Gerlach & Wiedling, 1937
  • Voluntary auction of an elegant type of apartment (furniture, paintings, porcelain, silver, carpets, etc.) on the 7th and 7th Nov. 8, 1940 ... in house Rennweg No. 3 ... Catalog No. 12 / [F. Kieslinger] , Vienna: Vienna art auction house A. Weinmüller 1940 dnb
  • Our cathedral. Remarks about his medieval Will u. its creator. For the Austrian Katholikentag 1952. , Vienna: Österreichische Staatsdruckerei, 1952
  • Unknown at best-known places: Interpretation of the only surviving lunette mosaic on the front of St. Mark's Basilica above Porta Alipio , Vienna: Gerold & Co., 1954

literature

  • Alois Kieslinger: publications by Franz Kieslinger (1891–1955) . Vienna I, Schönlaterngasse 5: Dr. A. Kieslinger, 1955
  • Alexandra Caruso: Robbery in orderly conditions , in: Gabriele Anderl / Alexandra Caruso (eds.), Nazi art theft in Austria and the consequences , StudienVerlag, Innsbruck - Vienna - Bozen 2005, pp. 90 ff.
  • Meike Hopp: Art trade under National Socialism: Adolf Weinmüller in Munich and Vienna. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2012, also dissertation at the University of Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-412-20807-3 , pp. 241–250; Pp. 272-293

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See also: Albert Kende ( Memento of the original from December 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.david.juden.at
  2. ↑ Meike Hopp: Art Trade in National Socialism , 2011, p. 249
  3. ↑ Birgit Schwarz: On orders from the Führer: Hitler and the Nazi art theft . Darmstadt: Theiss 2014, p. 196
personal data
SURNAME Kieslinger, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Art historian and art thief under National Socialism
DATE OF BIRTH November 16, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH January 18, 1955
Place of death Vienna