Josef Jurutka, Beethoven

Description

‘Beethoven’
Signed 1944.
Size: 63 x 50 cm.

‘One single German, Beethoven, has done more for music than all Englishmen put together’ (Adolf Hitler’s speaking in the Bürgerbräukeller, Munich, November 8, 1939).

An identical, slightly smaller, sister-portrait by Jurutka was displayed at the GDK 1939, room 37. This painting was bought by Adolf Hitler, who must have liked it very much, as he purchased the painting explicitly for his own use (a rare exeption, see below).
The copy owned by Hitler is currentlly in the possession of Deutsches Historische Museum, Berlin. It measures unframed: 55 x 43,5 cm. It was displayed in the Deutsches Historisches Museum at the exhibition ‘Beethoven – Freiheit’, August 2020 – June 2021.

The exhibition ‘Beethoven – Freiheit’, August 2020 – June 2021, described the Beethoven portrait by Jurutka as follows:

The still life emphasises the metaphysical and superhuman dimensions of the composer.
The extinguished candle points to the ephemerality of all earthly things. The life mask of Beethoven on the wall, crowned with a laurel wreath, symbolises the immortality of his music, indicated by the violin and the sheets of music.
‘Hitler’s image of Beethoven no doubt corresponded almost exactly with Josef Jurutka’s still-life painting Beethoven from 1937. Hovering above an extinguished candle, a quill, yellowed music paper and a string instrument is the laurel-wreathed life mask of the composer. After completing his work, Beethoven seems to triumph as the ingenious creator, having earned the victory crown against all earthly resistance as a strong-willed, conscientious man of action, released from all finiteness through his own deeds. Hitler could identify with that. In 1939 he purchased the painting for his own private collection’.

Josef Jurutka, ‘Beethoven’. GDK 1939, room 37. Bought by Hitler for 800 RM. Nowadays in the possession of the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin. Displayed in the Deutsches Historisches Museum at the exhibition ‘Beethoven – Freiheit’, August 2020 – June 2021.

Left: the Beethoven exhibition at the website of the German Historical Museum.
Right: twitter message about the exhibition of the German Historical Museum.

Document about Hitlers purchases from the Haus der Deutschen Kunst, 1939, found in the Bundesarchiv, Berlin. The text reads: ‘Werke über die der Führer persönlich verfügen werd’, meaning ‘Works, explicitly meant for Hitlers own personal use’. There were only two works of art mentioned, one of them being ‘Beethoven’ by Josef Jurutka.

What happened to the art Hitler purchased at the Great German Art Exhibitions?
With his insatiable passion for collecting art, Hitler was the most important purchaser of works from the GDKs. Every year, several times, he visited the Haus der Deustchen Kunst. From 1937 to 1944 he bought in total 1316 works at the GDKs.
Hitler’s mass art purchases were mostly undertaken without a plan regarding the future location of the works. He only had a specific usage in mind from the start for a few of these works of art. The majority of the paintings and sculptures acquired at the GDKs faced an uncertain future. They were stored at the Haus der Deutschen Kunst until further notice (some were eventually taken to the Führerbau).
Below we describe the fate of a limited number of artworks which were – as an exception- given a special destination by Hitler:
1. 144 paintings, sculptures and graphic works were bought by Hitler in 1938; they were transported to Berlin and placed in the Neue Reichskanzlei under construction, which was completed in January 1939. The list of 144 works (in our possession) is not exhaustive. Hitler did buy more works at the GDK in 1938 -and in later years- of which some were also placed in the Reichskanzlei.
2. In 1939 Hitler gave 10 works of art to the Jagdmuseum in Munich: works by Carl von Dombroswki, Ludwig Eugen, Felix Kupsch, Friedrich Reimann (5), Karl Wagner and Renz Waller.
3. A few pieces were used to decorate Hitler’s various offices and private residences; for example, Adolf Ziegler’s ‘Die Vier Elemente’ was famously placed over the fireplace in a salon of the Führerbau in Munich.
4. In April 1943 Hitler had 21 paintings from the GDK delivered to his Munich apartment in the Prinzregentenstrasse. This delivery included works by Anton Müller-Wischin, Franz Xaver Wolf, Freidrich Schüz, Hermann Urban, Ludwig Platzöder, Sep Happ and Sepp Meindl.
5. In 1939 Hitler bought two works, explicitly meant for his own personal use: ‘Beethoven’ by Josef Jurutka and ‘Bauernkrieg’ by Franz Xavier Wolf.

Josef Jurutka, ‘Beethoven’ depicted on a postcard. The name under the depiction reads ‘Musikalisches Stilleben’ (‘Musically Still Life’).

‘Nature morte au Masque Beethovénien’
The ‘Beethoven’ by Jurutka in the possession of the Deutsches Historisches Museum was displayed at the exhibition ‘Le IIIe Reich et la Musique’ in the Musée de la Musique, Paris, October 2004 – January 2005.

‘Nature morte au Masque Beethovénien’ displayed at the ‘Grande exposition d’art Allemand’. Depicted in the catalogue of the ‘Le IIIe Reich et la Musique’-exhibition, page 45.

‘One single German, Beethoven, has done more for music than all Englishmen put together’ (Adolf Hitler’s speaking in the Bürgerbräukeller, Munich, November 8, 1939).
‘Überhaupt brauchen wir Deutschen uns von den Engländern auf dem Gebiet der Kultur nichts vormachen zu lassen…… Immerhin glaube ich, hat ein einziger -Beethoven- musikalisch mehr geleistet als sämtliche Engländer der Vergangenheit und Gegenwart zusammen..’
According to Hitler, the three master composers that represented good German music were Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner, and Anton Bruckner. Hitler celebrated his birthdays with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Beethoven’s Eroica was played to introduce Hitler’s speeches on Heroes Remembrance Day. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) believed that ‘strength is the morality of the man who stands out from the rest’. Hitler identified himself with Beethoven as possessing that heroic German spirit; but Beethoven was also so loved by the German people that his legacy of music was unrivalled by any other composer.
Beethoven’s Ninth was also performed during Christmas 1989, under the direction of Leonard Bernstein, at a concert to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall.

From left to right: Himmler, Goering, Hitler and Goebbels watching Berlin’s Philharmonic (Wilhelm Furtwängler’s) performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, April 1942.

– condition	: II
– size	: 75 x 60 cm; unframed 63 x 50 cm
– signed	: right, under. created in 1944
– type	: oil on canvas.
– misc.	: professional reframed and cleaned

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BIOGRAPHY: JOSEF JURUTKA

Josef Jurutka, ‘Und eines Morgens’, 1943 (‘And one morning’), 180 x 78 cm. This painting was sent to Haus der Kunst in Munich for the Great German Art Exhibition in 1944. However, it was not displayed, but stored in the cellars of the Haus der Kunst in 1944. In 1945 it was confiscated by the Americans and shipped to the U.S. Army Centre of Military History, Washington, D.C. In 1986 it was given back to Germany, together with 5,849 other paintings. Nowadays the painting is in the possession of the Deutsche Historisches Museum, Berlin. Depicted in ‘Kunst und Propaganda in der Wehrmacht’, 1990.

Josef Jurutka, ‘Zum Aufruf des Führer‘ (‘The Führer is Calling‘). GDK 1942, room 16.

Josef Jurutka, ‘Studienwinkel’ (‘Library’), 1935. GDK 1939, room 37 (sold for 2,500 RM), nowadays in the possession of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Germany. Size 90 x 70 cm.

Josef Jurutka, ‘Pelargonien’ (‘Geraniums’), postcard issued by the Haus der Deutschen Kunst. GDK 1943, room 37. Sold for 1,200 RM.

Josef Jurutka, ‘Alte Bücher’ (‘Old Books’), postcard issued by ‘L’Art du Monde/ Svjetski Umjetnici’. This is most likely the painting ‘Alte Bücher’ which was displayed at the GDK 1937 room 35.

Left: Josef Jurutka, postcard, ‘Sonnenblumen’ (‘Sunflowers’). GDK 1939, room 35.
Right: Josef Jurutka, ‘Still life’, displayed in the spring-exhibition 1914 in ‘Budapest Műcsarnok’, or ‘Hall of Art’ (A MÛCSARNOK TAVASZI KIÁLLÍTÁSÁBÓL CSENDÉLET JURUTKA JÓZSEF FESTMÉNYE).

Josef Jurutka
Josef Jurutka was born in 1880 in Pri-Oszacta, Republic of Hungary. In 1914 he took part in the spring-exhibition in ‘Budapest Műcsarnok ’, or ‘Hall of Art’; in 1920 he made a journey to Hradiště in the Czech Republic. He was a member of the Slovakian Art Association in Bratislava. From 1915 until 1936 he worked in Vienna. Jurutka participated in other exhibitions in Bulgaria, Munich, Paris, Bratislava and Berlin. Several of his works were depucted on postcards.
From 1937 until 1944 Jurutka displayed 8 works in the Great German Art Exhibitions, including ‘Zum Aufruf des Führer’ (‘The Führer is calling’, GDK 1942) and ‘Beethoven’ (GDK 1939), which was bought by Hitler. Hitler purchased ‘Beethoven’ explicitly for his own use, which was a rare exeption.

Josef Jurutka died in May 1945, at an age of 65, in St. Peter in de Au, Austria.
Jurutka’s painting ‘Und eines Morgens’ (‘And one morning’, 1943) was confiscated in 1945 by the Americans and shipped to the U.S. Army Centre of Military History, Washington, D.C. In 1986 it was given back to Germany, together with 5,849 other paintings. Nowadays this painting and ‘Beethoven’ are in the possession of the Deutsche Historisches Museum, Berlin.
‘Beethoven’ by Jurutka was displayed at the exhibition ‘Le IIIe Reich et la Musique’ in the Musée de la Musique, Paris, October 2004 – January 2005. One other work (‘Studienwinkel’) is in the possession of the Bayerisch Staatsgemäldesammlungen.