The Bottom Line
Pros
- A photographic account of a neglected chapter in world and art history.
- Hundreds of astounding period photos.
- Extensively researched, accessibly written.
Cons
- Price will, unfortunately, be prohibitive for many, though it's less than many art coffeetable books
Description
- 320 pages, large-format (13.5x10" or 34.29x25.4cm ), hardcover coffee-table book. ISBN 0997433494X.
- Published by Laurel Publishing, LLC, Dallas.
- More than 460 photographs, 60 in color. Most are black-and-white period photos.
- Lists the personnel of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section, or Monuments Men.
- Map of where Nazi repositories of art and Allied collecting points were.
- Map entitled 'In Harm's Way' shows where Leonardo da Vinci's paintings were before / after the war.
- Supplemented by a website www.rescuingdavinci.com which shares new information found.
- Should be compulsory reading for all politicians, military personnel, and art historians.
Guide Review - Rescuing Da Vinci -- Recovering Europe's Art from Hitler and the Nazis
Rescuing Da Vinci uses period photographs rather than words tell the story of Hitler's desire to rid Germany of 'degenerate art' and the campaign to loot the best of European art from conquered territories. The images are haunting: the evacuation of the Louvre and Rijksmuseum; hundreds of looted paintings in a mine; statues wrapped up. The one that stays in my mind is Rembrandt's Nightwatch, safely home once more, being unrolled on a carpet ... How must it have felt to take such a precious painting off its stretchers and roll it up?
The book is also a homage to the Allies' Monuments Men, tasked with preserving Europe's cultural heritage as far as possible in the midst of a war. For instance, they drew up lists of cultural treasures and marked them on maps so bombing missions might avoid them. After the war they dealt the repositories of stolen art in Germany, Italy, and Austria.
A communique from General Eisenhower, US Army Commander-in-Chief, dated 29 December 1943 set it out as policy: "In many cases the monuments can be spared without any detriment to operational needs ... It is a responsibility of higher commanders to determine through A.M.G. Officers the locations of historical monuments whether they be immediately ahead of our front lines or in areas occupied by us."
It's an aspect of World War 2 that deserves more recognition and prominence, for the destruction of cultural heritage lessens us all. Rescuing Da Vinci is a fine step towards this.
