Last September the Prado Museum published a list of 25 works in its collection that were seized during the Civil War and Francoism. Among them are paintings by Rubens, Sorolla, and Brueghel the Younger. It is a preliminary list, but like efforts in other European museums to address art plunder during the Nazi era, the Prado aims to clarify the origins of its holdings and heal old wounds.
In December the Madrid gallery opened a new exhibition route titled El Prado Most Feminine, honoring women who promoted, collected, and inspired some of the most emblematic works of art from the 15th to the 17th centuries. The determination of a fundamental claimant is not yet clear.
These are two closely related examples highlighting a broader trend among major international museums: reassessing the past, admitting past wrongs, and addressing historical debts. The debate around reparations has a long history, as seen at the British Museum where questions about the Parthenon marbles from Greece have resurfaced. The central question remains: what would happen if great European museums began returning looted works to their original owners or nations?
Prado has also reexamined its policies on works tied to Francoism and limited female presence. It has launched feminist oriented routes and is rethinking the recent past to close wounds and address the role of women in art. The museum now highlights a route that stresses contributions by women who shaped the Renaissance era through leadership and partnerships with artists, spanning from the 15th to the 16th centuries. Among them are Mary of Hungary and Isabel Clara Eugenia, Rubens, Titian, Brueghel the Elder, and Bartolomé González. After the death of their husbands, these women used their influence to shape collections that stand among the era’s most important. This reorganization brings a different perspective to the experience of visiting Prado.
Promotional image of the El Prado infeminine exhibition tour
Prado has spent time acknowledging women by placing them in a rightful context in their rooms. Artists like Clara Peeters, Sofonisba Anguissola, and Artemisia Gentileschi have gained recognition, while ongoing discussions address the masculine bias present in many accompanying captions and catalogs.
Thanks to this renewed structure, some entries have been revised. Earlier depictions presenting Mary Tudor in derogatory light or describing a portrait of Antonio Moro as merely depicting a wife are being reconsidered to reflect the dignity and independence of women relative to men.
Another heated topic this year has been artifacts seized during the Franco regime and the Civil War, and the search for their true owners. The Prado has published a list of works recovered from these relics, but many lack clear provenance. Returning objects to rightful heirs remains a complex task. Some descendants, like those of Basque businessman Ramón de la Sota y Llano who located artifacts before the war and had them seized by the regime, have begun procedures autonomously due to strong national ties.
Young Jan Brueghel’s Snowy Landscape is among the 25 works on the list connected to Civil War and Francoism, illustrating how the scope of looted property is vast. The sheer number challenges tracking personal property removed during the dictatorship. The fact that some pieces appear in churches, inns, or private collections only adds to the difficulty. New cases continue to emerge, such as that of Nicolás Sánchez-Albornoz, whose father was a Second Republic politician who went into exile.
Prado has appointed a curator to investigate origins and potential returns of artifacts believed to have remained in the collection against owners’ wishes during the Civil War and Franco regime. Arturo Colorado leads this effort, and currently the 62 identified beneficiaries await resolution.
Since the 19th century Greece has pressed for the return of Parthenon statues. The Parthenon marbles displayed at the British Museum have long stood at the center of this debate. Since 2021 a commission has examined extensive collections and origins linked to claims by other nations or to practices such as slavery. The Guardian recently reported that constructive talks with Greece are underway regarding the possible return of some marbles, offering a glimmer of progress on a deeply contested issue.
A key question across nations concerns how museums handle legacy looting. In 2020 France returned 27 items to Benin and Senegal, and the Netherlands has promised to restore certain colonial artifacts. Spain, though not renowned for a large looted art legacy, has seen claims from countries like Colombia regarding Pre-Columbian treasures in Madrid’s Museum of America being returned or examined for rightful ownership.
The ethics of large donations
Public pressure and unexpected events such as the war in Ukraine have forced cultural institutions to rethink the acceptability of certain donations. In England, 2022 is remembered for shifts in leadership and the removal of controversial names tied to past scandals. The Sackler family name, once attached to a major museum building, has faced removal from some institutions due to their role in the opioid crisis.
In the United Kingdom, the National Gallery and British Museum have cut ties with names tied to the drug industry after decades of scrutiny. The Harvard Arthur Sackler Museum continues to bear the founder’s name, reflecting ongoing complexities in provenance and donor influence.
London under review
The war in Ukraine has also sparked renewed discussions in the United States about philanthropy in the arts. Russian oligarchs who moved to London after the Soviet collapse funded many cultural institutions. Viktor Vekselberg, once a partner of Vladimir Putin, faced removal from a prestigious fundraising body, and Leonid Mikhelson, another major donor, saw his family ties influence the art world’s governance. These cases illustrate the broader debate on donor influence, ethics, and the role of wealth in shaping public culture.