It's all about the artwork

the documentation process

Every piece of information entered into the catalogue’s database is related to a specific work of art. This includes its characteristics (title, medium, date, dimensions…) as well as information on its current location, provenance, exhibition history, published references, research notes, and more.

ONLINE PLATFORM

The online research platform facilitates the entry and organization of required data around the artwork. The Marchutz catalogue raisonné is powered by panOpticon, a cloud-based information management system, using the Uniform Data Standards recommended by leading members of the Catalogue Raisonné Scholars Association. The panOpticon platform hosts the catalogues raisonnés of over 90 artists, including Paul Cézanne (discover Paul Cézanne’s Catalogue Raisonné), Mary Cassatt, Roy Lichtenstein, Sam Francis and John Singer Sargent.

“One of the many challenges of a catalogue raisonné, is staying focused. When I feel I’m getting dispersed, I repeat to myself my new mantra: It’s all about the artwork.

Denise Lemoine
Project Manager, The Leo Marchutz Catalogue Raisonné

Project Highlights

ARTWORK CATALOGED

867 works recorded
(359 paintings, 46 drawings and 462 lithographs)

MUSEUM FINDINGS

950 individual works found
in 16 museums

PHOTO SHOOTS

258 large-format paintings professionally photographed.
462 lithographs scanned using a high resolution scanner.

5 FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGNS

245 donors
$55,796 collected

FOLLOWERS

400+ newsletter subscribers

Lost and found

The mysteries of the catalogue raisonne

Catalogue raisonné research is like detective work. You have to dig, follow leads, gather evidence, compare notes, and build your case. You have to be methodical… and above all, patient.

A catalogue raisonné is “a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known works of an artist either in a particular medium or all media”. Sound simple? Well, think again! Like most artists, Leo Marchutz did not keep detailed notes on the artwork he created, exhibited, sold, donated or destroyed. Since research began, we have made some exciting discoveries in a number of museums around the world. We also encountered a fair share of mysteries. Below is a sample of what we found (or didn’t…)

Leo Marchutz in museums

950 works located in 16 institutions around the world

In the 1930s, Marchutz’s art began to travel the world with the help of John Rewald, who, acting as his agent, brought thirty of his works to London.
Over the following decades, collectors such as Henry Pearlman, James Rosenberg and his benefactor, French architect Fernand Pouillon, continued to promote Marchutz’s artwork around the world. Since 2019, the Léo Marchutz catalogue raisonné project has located over 950 works, notably in museums in North America and in Europe.

“We are delighted to have Mr. Marchutz’s prints in the Museum’s collection. His strength lies in delicacy, in deft suggestion.

A. Hyatt Mayor
Curator of the Print Department of The Metropolitan Museum of New York (1959)

whereabouts unknown

30 early works

Brought to London by John Rewald, acting as Marchutz’s agent in the 1930’s
Remaining leads: The Victoria and Albert Museum. John Rewald’s family to determine which galleries, private collectors, and other museums may have been approached.

1 oil painting, The Ascension, (1919)

The first painting sold by Leo Marchutz to Theater and Film Director Max Reinhardt.
Remaining leads: The heirs and relatives of Max Reinhardt in Germany and in the US.

97 artworks

Purchased by art collector Henry Pearlman between 1962 and 1969
Remaining leads: The Brooklyn Museum. The Henry Pearlman Papers at the Smithsonian Archives.

7 early period paintings (c. 1920)

The Apostles, The Annunciation, Christ on the Mount of Olives, The Resurrection, John at Patmos, Emmaus, Tobias Becoming Blind.
Remaining leads: The Folkwang and Osthaus Museums in Hagen and Essen, Germany. Other museums and galleries in Munster active in the 1920’s. The heirs and relatives of Ernst Osthaus, art collector and organizer of Marchutz’s first solo show.