The Argo, a fabulously fast ship full of heroes, is at anchor off the coast in a Southern landscape. While the Argonaut Hylas is seeking refreshment at a spring, nymphs pounce on him and kidnap him. The fate of the youth is sealed because Cupid is standing at the ready with his bow and arrow and his torch of passion. Koch places the event from Greek mythology in an idealised landscape. The unity of man and nature, personified by Hylas and the nymphs at the spring, is typical of Classicism; the portrayal of the landscape, by contrast, already points forward to the Romantic Age.
Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.
The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.
Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known:
The successive ownership records are separated from each other by a semicolon.
Gaps in the record of a provenance are indicated by the placeholder “…”. Unsupported information is listed in square brackets.
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