User’s Instructions

The menu toolbar provides direct access to all sources of information augmenting the catalogue raisonné:

The Introduction includes “A Short Biography” and a thorough outlining of “The Life And Works” of Felix Nussbaum. Moreover, one can also find here important background information on “The Handing Down Of The Works.” These details knit together a picture of the artist’s estate, i.e. his artistic legacy. The chapter entitled “The History Of The Investigative Research” tabulates the most important stations along the way in the exploration and understanding of Felix Nussbaum, the artist and the man. It also provides a summary of all the extant documents shedding light on the life and works of the artist. In addition, the history of “The Osnabrück Collection” is sketched out and also included is an overview on the most important “exhibitions” together with “The Tasks Of The Research Programme” on Felix Nussbaum.

The Catalogue indexes all the artist’s works and gives a clear view of the structuring of the complete œuvre into five phases. It also lists up separately a miscellany of works of art produced by the artist to help him eke out a living. Works discovered after the releasing of the 2006 online catalogue raisonné are catalogued in a list of addenda.

Within the Catalogue the database provides three different kinds of picture viewing: the view Picture shows the works in a small format without any extra information and simply gives a comprehensive overview of the pictures themselves; the view Short Details offers quick access to the pictures and includes the most important details on each work of art (title, year, technique, size, location); the view Details shows a bigger version of the picture and provides all the details attributed to and indexed for a work of art (picture index number, genre, title, technique, size, signature, dating, designation, location, provenance). A mouse click enables fields with more detailed information - such as Comments, Exhibitions, Literature and Keywords relating to any one particular work -  that are closed to be opened, provided they are available.

In addition, the Exhibition Index and the Literature Index can be viewed via the menu toolbar. More detailed information can be found on the relevant page.

The Search function can also be called up directly via the menu toolbar. Several search options have been made available. More detailed information on searches can be found on the relevant page.

The Concordance lists up the older picture index numbers which are in line with the Junk/Zimmer indexing of 1982 and sets these against the new system of numbering.

Finally the menu also offers the option Picture Inquiry, a facility which provides the user with important information regarding authorisation to use the picture material available in the database.

All the works of art (paintings, graphics, print graphics) are chronologically ordered in accordance with their date of completion. They have all been given a simple numbering system arranged in ascending order. The chronological sequence within any one year follows stylistic criteria whereby it must also be mentioned that works belonging to a special series or group of topics and motifs make up an additional criterion, inasmuch as these works all harmonise in respect of their artistic quality.

The online catalogue raisonné is based on the first representation outlining the complete œuvre of Felix Nussbaum, a compilation made by Peter Junk and Wendelin Zimmer, which indexed 286 works of art and included twelve addenda. Works that came to light later were systematically added to the Junk/Zimmer picture index and were given an A-B-C system of numbering that was placed after the regular number that they received. The sequencing of the Junk/Zimmer catalogue raisonné, set up in 1982, has been completely revised and all the works have been renumbered. The works of art completed by Nussbaum as a means of earning a living have been grouped together separately. These are identified by the letter G (which stands for the German word Gelegenheitsarbeiten = works performed to earn a living) placed before the usual chronological numbering of the pictures. The picture index numbers set up by Junk/Zimmer in 1982 are listed up in the Concordance and set against the new sequencing system.

Works discovered after the releasing of the 2006 online catalogue raisonné are compiled in the Catalogue as Addenda. Their numbers are preceded by the letter N (which stands for the German word Nachträge = addenda).

The six categories serve to differentiate between the various genres employed by Felix Nussbaum:

1. Paintings (Works on canvas, plywood or hardboard)

2. Graphics (All works on paper, i.e. the gouache works [including the frequently-used technique of combining gouache and oil] and drawings [art worked in pencil, charcoal, chalk, Indian ink and graphite])

3. Print Graphics (Etchings and Lithographs)

4. Arts &Crafts (Works completed – as a means of earning a living – on paper, ceramics, china, glass or wood)

5. Illustrations (Drawings created by the artist for magazines or books)

6. Film (Special drawings designed for film sequences used in a cartoon film)

The titles appear in English. If the title in its English version follows a name or designation in German or French, either determined by the artist himself or by information from contemporary sources, this will be quoted in the category Signature/Dating/Designation in its original wording.

It is primarily the designation found on the front of a picture or on the back that determines the title. Similarly other documents, as long as they have come from the artist, are also taken as a yardstick for titling purposes. What is not taken into consideration is any form of detailed names relating to a location (Cagnes Sur Mer, Rapallo, San Remo or Brussels) if these form a close unit with the date and/or signature. Comments found in contemporary exhibition catalogues, reviews from that time and other contemporary sources provide a second criterion for the titling of pictures. Such titles deduced from the above-mentioned instances are written in inverted commas. The relevant source for such a title is stated in the category Signature/Dating/Designation.

Unnamed works are given a descriptive title. Up until now titles used in the Junk/Zimmer indexing of works from 1982 and in the catalogue accompanying the exhibition held in Osnabrück in 1990, including its revised edition of 1995, have, for the most part, been preserved.

The sizes are given in cm, height followed by width. In the case of works on paper, the size of the paper and also the size of the picture, where necessary, are stated. For print graphics the size of the board is listed. All this is clearly marked. The dimensions given are basically in line with those appearing in the catalogue accompanying the 1990 Osnabrück exhibition and with the measurements in its revised edition of 1995.

All other works have been re-measured if they were accessible. In certain individual cases it was impossible to remove the work of art from its frame with the result that only the inner measurements of the frame or the size of the passe-partout frame could be measured. Such information has been recorded.

All information regarding the techniques employed has been added to the details concerning the surface material of the pictures.

Details regarding the signature of a work of art follow its titling. If no comments have otherwise been added, such signatures stem from the hand of the artist. If the German “ß” (Nußbaum) appears in the spelling of the name, this refers to the form of the “sz” found in the German Sütterlin script and used by the artist.

Any other more detailed information elucidating the colours and the technique, if available, is also stated. This is not always possible in the case of works on a paper base as strokes made by brushes, quills or other kinds of tools are usually difficult to ascertain. Thus, in order to avoid inaccuracies, it has been decided, in these instances, to dispense with a detailed description of the way in which colour was applied.

Slashes separate words or phrases that are placed below or above each other.

Details referring to the date when a work of art was produced are fixed to a particular year. They reflect the information provided by the artist in conjunction with the picture in question. If the artist himself has specified the dating of a piece of work by including the day and the month of its completion, then such details are listed up in the category Signature/Dating/Designation. Should two different years be mentioned, then these two dates refer to information provided by the artist (usually one on the front and one on the back of the picture). All works that were not dated by the artist have been given a date qualified by the expression circa.

If a work shows up a dating that is at variance with previous literature on Nussbaum or if an attributed dating is debatable or difficult in any way, all this is tabulated in the category Comments.

Any other more detailed information elucidating the colours and the technique, if available, is also stated. This is not always possible in the case of works on a paper base as strokes made by brushes, quills or other kinds of tools are usually difficult to ascertain. Thus, in order to avoid inaccuracies, it has been decided, in these instances, to dispense with a detailed description of the way in which colour was applied.

Slashes separate words or phrases that are placed below or above each other.

The designation of a piece of work is primarily the wording of the title on the front or on the back of the picture or it is taken from contemporary documents written by the artist. All other wording appearing on the works such as dedications or any other additions are described as such. All descriptions are quoted as they stand. If not otherwise stated, these phrases come from the pen of the artist.

Any other more detailed information elucidating the colours and the technique, if available, is also stated. This is not always possible in the case of works on a paper base as strokes made by brushes, quills or other kinds of tools are usually difficult to ascertain. Thus, in order to avoid inaccuracies, it has been decided, in these instances, to dispense with a detailed description of the way in which colour was applied.

Slashes separate words or phrases that are placed below or above each other.

The details on the designation of titles made by the artist are complemented by all the other names given to a piece of work, names that have been handed down in contemporary exhibition catalogues, reviews or from any other contemporary sources. These are identified accordingly.

Here can be found the location of the piece of art and, if not on display at its owner’s location, details of ownership are also stated.

Institutions marked in red have been linked up with their own home pages.

The provenance of the collection has been defined as precisely and as thoroughly as possible. If details can be provided as to the year in which a painting was purchased, then this information is also included. It has not been possible to account for the provenance of the works totally. In some cases details on the origin of a piece of work are completely missing and, despite intensive research, no traces of its beginnings could be detected.

Background information on the legacy left to posterity by the artist is listed in the Introduction in the chapter entitled The Handing Down Of The Works.

When searching for information on the legacy handed down, it is advisable to go to the search option Detailed Search under the entry of Provenance and then to type in verbatim a strikingly individual excerpt taken from the formulations used in the database,(e.g. Avenue Brugman to find information on the works handed over to Dr. Grosfils in 1942 or Rue Général Gratry for the art abandoned in Felix Nussbaum’s atelier when he was arrested or Legmeerstraat for the legacy left by his father in Amsterdam).

In this category background information can be accessed which is directly relevant to a particular piece of work. Such information includes the following: references to important documents, comments about possible dating discrepancies and disputes relating to features and qualities attributed to the art, background details on the motifs and the characters represented and any possible special features regarding the techniques employed in the creation of the work of art.

The details basically follow those appearing in the revised exhibition catalogue of 1995 entitled “Felix Nussbaum. Verfemte Kunst, Exilkunst, Widerstandkunst.” Information on Nussbaum’s solo exhibitions and also that on the displaying of the artist’s work in other multiple-artist exhibitions post 1995 has been augmented as far as possible and is still being permanently updated.

All exhibitions, at which one or several works of art are displayed, appear in the list. The abbreviations shown are made up out of location and year of the exhibition and are complemented by the mentioning and/or illustration of the relevant piece of art as it appears in the accompanying exhibition catalogue. The complete bibliography is shown in the Exhibition Index. A mouse click on the abbreviations, which are marked in red, calls up the complete bibliographical details in the required index.

The details basically follow those appearing in the revised exhibition catalogue of 1995 entitled “Felix Nussbaum. Verfemte Kunst, Exilkunst, Widerstandkunst.” Post 1995 literature has been augmented as far as possible and is being permanently updated.

The abbreviations shown are made up out of the name of the author or the publisher and the year of publication and they are complemented by the page number and/or the illustration number of the work in question. The complete bibliography is shown in the Literature Index.

References to literature relating to individual works can be viewed in detail with their complete bibliographical information in the category Literature if these have not already been included in the Literature Index. This concerns pure references made to individual works or illustrations of them shown in books or magazines or in exhibition reviews printed in daily newspapers as long as they do not mention more than just the name of the work. Moreover, this also concerns details on literature from the fields of novels, poetry and drama, the belles-lettres, which increasingly use individual pictures of the artist for the design of book sleeves.

A mouse click on the abbreviations, which are marked in red, calls up the complete bibliographical details in the required index.

These keywords have been selected, on the one hand, in accordance with motifs in the pictures and, on the other, in line with aspects of classification. The term, motif, refers to an object found in the picture, which significantly symbolises the content of the work by means of the message it implies. When regarding the complete œuvre of Felix Nussbaum, it is of interest to examine the motifs to which the artist frequently returns and which he employs in diverse, thematic contexts. Consequently a selection of such motifs has been made, examples which are relevant to the researching and scientific examining of the motifs to be found within the entire collection of Felix Nussbaum’s works.

The classifying catchwords, in one respect, refer to the traditional genres, such as self-portrait or still life, but, with particular consideration to the œuvre of Nussbaum, these have been extended or, at least, varied in some ways.

Within the Search Engine, the database provides a Search for Keywords, whereby one or more keywords/catchwords can be selected. In this way specific research on, for example, self-portraits, landscapes of still life can be carried out in combination with research on single motifs.

Every effort has been made to reproduce top-quality works of art. This was, unfortunately, not always possible as either the necessary reproduction copies were not available or because the copy could not be matched up with the original. In some cases amateur photographs were used as the basis for the illustration, the quality of which was very often inadequate. This deficiency in quality has been tolerated as it seemed more important to present the œuvre in its entirety as far as that was at all possible.

In the Illustration List details are given about the copyright regulations and also, in individual cases, supplementary information regarding the origin of a picture has been made available.

In some instances a picture of a particular piece of work has not been handed down. Such a fact is mentioned in Comments. In rare cases, the illustration of a work of art had to be omitted as authorisation to include such an illustration in the online catalogue raisonné was not granted.