Portrait of Isabella Brant

Provenance

Where it has been

1. 1947 –
   The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
   high confidenceCleveland Museum of Art

   “The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (1947-)”

2. 1947 –
   Rosenberg and Stiebel and Pinakos, Inc./Rudolf Heinemann, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
   high confidenceCleveland Museum of Art

   “Rosenberg and Stiebel and Pinakos, Inc./Rudolf Heinemann, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1947) [notes: Burchard and Raphael Rosenberg first began corresponding about the Rubens in March 1945, and it seems that Rosenberg and Stiebel made the decision to purchase the painting that month. Saemy Rosenberg mentions a letter of March 27, 1945 in which Raphael Rosenberg writes that Burchard’s “favorable opinion” of the Rubens “encouraged [them] to buy the painting.”  Several photographs in the Rubenianum’s file on the painting are marked with annotations stating that the painting was with Rosenberg and Stiebel beginning in November 1945, the month in which the purchase must have taken place.  Pinakos, Inc., owned by Rudolf Heinemann, often partnered with Rosenberg and Stiebel in the purchase of paintings.  Each firm owned a half-share in the Rubens painting, but because Pinakos is not mentioned in the above correspondence, Rosenberg and Stiebel may have sold the half-share following their initial purchase of the painting in November 1945.  In the fall of 1946, CMA director William Milliken and curator Henry Sayles Francis saw the painting at Rosenberg and Stiebel in New York, but at the time, the museum was not in a position to purchase it.  In April 1947, Francis writes to Saemy Rosenberg to say that the museum would like to consider the painting, if it was still available, for the collection.   ]”

3. 1930 – 1947
   Heirs of Marcus Kappel, sold to Rosenberg and Stiebel with Pinakos, Inc./Rudolf Heinemann
   purchase
   high confidenceCleveland Museum of Art

   “Heirs of Marcus Kappel, sold to Rosenberg and Stiebel with Pinakos, Inc./Rudolf Heinemann (1930-1947) [notes: It is unclear which Kappel heirs inherited the Rubens and ultimately sold it to Rosenberg and Stiebel, whose files apparently do not name the seller of the painting.  In a letter to Raphael Rosenberg dated May 28th, 1946, Ludwig Burchard simply states: “after Marcus Kappel’s death, the picture remained in the possession of the family.”   A notation on the back of photograph of the Rubens in the files of the Rubenianum reads, “Nov. 1945 in America den Kappel-Erben abgekauft von Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York.”  The heir(s) may have been Ellen Rathenau-Ettlinger and/or Ernst Rathenau, Kappel’s grandchildren, who inherited a number of works from their grandfather’s collection.  While there is no definitive confirmation that they were in possession of the painting throughout the war, there is also no indication that they were not, and no documentation suggests that the painting was seized by the Nazis.  ]”

4. 1930 –
   (Kappel estate sale, Paul Cassirer und Hugo Helbing, Berlin, Nov. 25, 1930, no. 16, withdrawn)
   purchase
   high confidenceCleveland Museum of Art

   “(Kappel estate sale, Paul Cassirer und Hugo Helbing, Berlin, Nov. 25, 1930, no. 16, withdrawn) (1930) [notes: An annotation in the Rubenianum's copy of this sale catalogue indicates that the painting was withdrawn because it failed to meet its reserve price: "Limite R[eichs] M[ark] 150.000".  Rubens scholar Ludwig Burchard wrote on the back of one of the Rubenianum's file photographs of the Rubens, “Photo Erhalten 27. Febr. 1930 durch Caspari, München.” The role Galerie Caspari played, if any, in the painting’s provenance is unclear.  The gallery may have merely supplied the photograph.  However, Caspari and Cassirer do appear adjacent to one another in the provenances of several other paintings, and so some transaction involving the painting may have taken place; perhaps the Kappel heirs first consigned the painting to Galerie Caspari, and after it failed to sell, it was consigned to Cassirer/Helbing for sale at auction.  ]”

5. 1919 – 1930
   Estate of Marcus Kappel
   high confidenceCleveland Museum of Art

   “Estate of Marcus Kappel (1919-1930)”

6. 1914 – 1919
   Marcus Kappel [1839-1919], Berlin
   high confidenceCleveland Museum of Art

   “Marcus Kappel [1839-1919], Berlin (1914-1919)”

7. 1914 –
   (Hugh Blaker [1873–1936], Old Isleworth, Middlesex, England, sold to Marcus Kappel
   high confidenceCleveland Museum of Art

   “(Hugh Blaker [1873–1936], Old Isleworth, Middlesex, England, sold to Marcus Kappel (1914) [notes: It is not certain whether Blaker acted as owner or dealer in this case, but given that he dealt in Old Masters and had the painting for no more than a year, the latter is more likely.]”

8. 1914 –
   (Glanusk sale, Sotheby's, London, April 29, 1914, no. 88, sold to Hugh Blaker)
   purchase
   high confidenceCleveland Museum of Art

   “(Glanusk sale, Sotheby's, London, April 29, 1914, no. 88, sold to Hugh Blaker) (1914)”

9. 1914 –
   Lord Glanusk
   purchase
   high confidenceCleveland Museum of Art

   “Lord Glanusk (1914)”