On Saturday, April 1, 2023, the town hall of Audierne returned to the rightful owners two paintings entrusted to the city by the descendants of a German soldier.
Under unknown circumstances, the soldier Max Müller had brought back to Germany two paintings by the Quimperate painter Lionel Floch (1895-1972).
The research, carried out jointly by the Commission pour l'indemnisation des victimes de spoliations (CIVS) and the Mission de recherche et de restitution des biens culturels spoliés between 1933 and 1945, made it possible to identify the owner spoliated. Floch’s works had been stolen from him in Audierne by German troops during the occupation of his villa.
Lionel Floch, Market scene in Guarda (Portugal) © Yves Le Mao
Lionel Floch, View of the south coast of Douarnenez bay © Yves Le Mao