Slevogt Painting Reidentified: Not Bruno but Louis Cassirer, Dated 1904
Recent findings from the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin have reclassified a painting by Max Slevogt, once believed to be a 1924 depiction of Bruno Cassirer on his deathbed. The artwork is now recognized as "Louis Cassirer auf dem Totenbett" (1904), portraying Bruno's father, Louis Cassirer, who passed away in 1904. This revelation emerged during provenance research for the exhibition "Porträts! Überraschende Begegnungen von Botticelli bis Lempicka," set to open on October 16, 2026. Curator Stephan Kemperdick discovered a 1968 publication containing a previously lost reference to a "Porträtskizze nach Cassirer." The painting, which was seized by the Nazis and later returned to the Cassirer family, is displayed at the Alte Nationalgalerie until September 27, 2026. The complete research findings will be included in the exhibition catalog.
Key facts
- Max Slevogt's painting previously identified as 'Der Vater Bruno Cassirers auf dem Totenbett' (1924) is now identified as 'Louis Cassirer auf dem Totenbett' (1904).
- The painting depicts Louis Cassirer, father of Bruno and Else Cassirer, not Bruno himself.
- The redating is based on Slevogt's own work list from 1968, which included an 1904 entry for a 'Porträtskizze nach Cassirer auf dem Totenbette'.
- The painting was given to 'Frau Bruno Cassirer' (Else Cassirer), sister of art dealer Paul Cassirer.
- The painting was seized by the Nazis from the Jewish Cassirer family and classified as 'verfolgungsbedingt entzogen'.
- It was restituted and repurchased with funds from the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung.
- The painting will move from the Neue Nationalgalerie to the Alte Nationalgalerie.
- It is currently on view in 'Cassirer und der Durchbruch des Impressionismus' at the Alte Nationalgalerie until September 27, 2026.
- It will be included in the exhibition 'Porträts! Überraschende Begegnungen von Botticelli bis Lempicka' opening October 16, 2026.
Entities
Artists
- Max Slevogt
- Louis Cassirer
- Bruno Cassirer
- Else Cassirer
- Paul Cassirer
- Stephan Kemperdick
- Karolin Feulner
Institutions
- Gemäldegalerie
- Neue Nationalgalerie
- Alte Nationalgalerie
- Nationalgalerie
- Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- Munich
- Mainz