This drawing was formerly in the collection of Dr Curt Glaser (1879-1943), the German Jewish art historian and collector. Glaser was the Director of the Staatliche Kunstbibliothek in Berlin until April 1933 when he was forced to resign his post as a result of the Nazis’ Laws for the Reestablishment of Civil Service, forbidding Jews from holding positions in the civil service and other professions. He sold the greater part of his collection of paintings and works on paper in two auctions in Berlin in May 1933. This drawing was acquired by Count Antoine Seilern, and in 1978 formed part of the Princes Gate bequest to the Home House Society (now the Samuel Courtauld Trust) for the benefit of The Courtauld Gallery. It shares this provenance with seven other drawings in The Courtauld’s collection. In 2003, Dr Glaser’s heirs submitted a claim for restitution of these eight drawings. Considering the claim in 2009, the UK’s Spoliation Advisory Panel found that the sale was not forced and that the prices paid for the drawings were fair. The Panel recommended therefore that the drawings should remain in ownership of the Samuel Courtauld Trust, held for public benefit at The Courtauld Gallery, London. The Panel also recommended that a note outlining the history and provenance of the drawings during and since the Nazi era should be included whenever they are displayed.

Dr Curt Glaser, Berlin (1879-1943); his sale, Max Perl (Berlin), 18-19 May 1933, lot 473 (as by Domenico Fossati); purchased there by Count Antoine Seilern (1901-1978); Princes Gate Bequest 1978. In September 2008 The Samuel Courtauld Trust referred a claim to the UK's Spoliation Advisory Panel for the restitution of this and seven other drawings in its collection. In its report of 24 June 2009 the Spoliation Advisory Panel recommended that the drawings should not be transferred to the claimants, and concluded that there were no grounds for criticism of Count Antoine Seilern or The Samuel Courtauld Trust, to whom Seilern bequeathed his collection in 1978. The Spoliation Advisory Panel's Report is attached (another copy in the file). An appeal was lodged in 2020 and denied by the Panel on the grounds of no new evidence presented.

Seilern, Count Antoine, Italian paintings and drawings at 56 Princes Gate, London, SW7, London 1959; II
no. 142
pl. CII
as by Piranesi, dated c. 1743-50

Watermark: Watermark: Recto, lower right edge, fragment: top of a column. Has vertical striations, which is not how any columns appear in watermark literature checked thus far.

Collector's mark: none.

Inscription: Mount (removed): Recto: lower left, graphite: "Piranesi"

Label: Mount (removed): Verso: lower left, stamped in blue ink: Export stamp showing eagle within a triangle and wording: "von der zentralstelle für denkmalschutz zur ausfuhr freigegeben"