Classification in categories according to Art Restitution Act
"Uncritical" indicates that the chronology of ownership can be traced end-to-end. Even if the work of art had been confiscated from Jewish property between 1938 and 1945, it was returned to its original owners after the war and properly acquired by the Belvedere.
"Questionable" is the term used by the Belvedere provenance research team to describe acquisitions as defined in § 1 of the Art Restitution Act. This article refers to works of art which
were subject to restitution to either the original owners or their legal successors, but could not be exported under the Export Prohibition Act of 1919 and subsequently passed gratuitously into the ownership of the Federation.
although lawfully transferred into the ownership of the Federation, had previously been the subject of a legal transaction within the scope of the Annulment Act from 1946 and are still in possession of the Federation.
had not been returned to their original owner or their legal successors after conclusions of restitution proceedings and therefore are still held by the Federation as “property without heirs.”
The category "unresolved – no indication of questionability" refers to art objects which can be plausibly assumed to have been acquired lawfully and do not originate from expropriated Jewish property, though a potential confiscation could not be ruled out with absolute certainty.
"Unresolved" indicates that the artwork in question currently lacks sufficient information to determine its provenance. There are no indications that the work is questionable, and no evidence that it is uncritical. This applies especially to acquisitions from the art trade from the years 1938 to 1945 and the post-war era.
