Kunsthaus Malmedé was a well-established art and antiques dealership in Cologne, specializing among other things in Old Master paintings. The business was founded in 1932 by Arthur Malmedé and was the direct successor to Kunsthandlung Malmedé & Geissendörfer, a firm established in Cologne around 1900.[1]
Its predecessor, Malmedé & Geissendörfer, was dissolved at the end of 1931. The entire stock was auctioned by Kunsthaus Lempertz in Cologne from 26 to 28 November of that year. The extensive auction catalogue is now a valuable source for research into the art trade in the Rhineland during the early twentieth century.[2]
Old Masters and exhibitions
Even before the establishment of Kunsthaus Malmedé, Old Master paintings formed an important part of the business. In 1917, for example, Malmedé & Geissendörfer published the auction catalogue Sammlung wertvoller Gemälde alter Meister aus süddeutschem Privatbesitz, in which 66 paintings were offered for sale.[3]
Arthur Malmedé continued this interest. His Kunsthaus organized not only sales but also exhibitions with an art-historical focus. A good example is Handzeichnungen alter Meister aus rheinischem Privatbesitz, held at the Kunsthaus from May to July 1934.[4]
The dealership covered a broad range of material, including paintings, drawings, sculpture, furniture and other antiques. Malmedé thus formed part of the established network of Cologne art dealers serving both private collectors and museums.
The art trade during the Second World War
The activities of Kunsthaus Malmedé during the National Socialist period are also of significance for provenance research today. The firm appears in archival material relating to the wartime art trade and in documentation concerning the Sonderauftrag Linz, the acquisition programme for the planned Führermuseum.[5]
A concrete example is a Portrait of a Man, now attributed to Antonis Mor. The painting was acquired by Kunsthaus Malmedé on 27 March 1942 and, after the war, came under the administration of the Stichting Nederlands Kunstbezit. Provenance histories of this kind make historical dealerships such as Malmedé particularly relevant to present-day provenance research.
Kunsthaus Malmedé after 1945
The dealership continued its activities after the war. From 1947, Kunsthaus Malmedé was located at Schildergasse 107 in Cologne. The firm continued to maintain contacts with museums and collectors. Documented sales to the Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte in Dortmund took place not only in 1951–1952, but also in 1956–1957 and 1963.[6]
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Footnotes
[1] Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, GND, Kunsthaus Malmedé; Proveana, Kunsthandlung Malmedé. Arthur Malmedé founded Kunsthaus Malmedé in 1932 as the successor to Malmedé & Geissendörfer.
[2] Kunsthaus Lempertz, Die gesamten Bestände der bekannten Kunsthandlung Malmedé & Geissendörfer, Köln, auction held 26–28 November 1931, catalogue no. 325.
[3] Kunsthandlung Malmedé & Geissendörfer, Sammlung wertvoller Gemälde alter Meister aus süddeutschem Privatbesitz, Cologne, 1917.
[4] Handzeichnungen alter Meister aus rheinischem Privatbesitz, exhibition catalogue, Kunsthaus Malmedé, Cologne, May–July 1934; copy held by the Rijksmuseum Research Library.
[5] Bundesarchiv Koblenz, BArch B 323/139, correspondence concerning acquisitions for the Sonderauftrag Linz, including documentation relating to Kunsthaus Malmedé and Arthur Malmedé.
[6] Proveana, Kunsthandlung Malmedé; documentation of transactions with the Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Dortmund in 1939, 1951–1952, 1956–1957 and 1963.