During the 1930s, the nazis were gaining power in Germany. Their ideals would influence German society at the time in many ways, including in the art they deemed acceptable. Many people do not know that before Hitler became one of the most infamous villains in history, he was an artist. When he served in WW1, he would spend hours drawing and painting. After the war he was rejected by art schools, and never achieved success as an artist. Years later, when he rose to power he would have a say in the art world.
Art in the early 20th century went through a huge change. Artists experimented with new avant-garde styles that had never been seen before. Artists focused on things like color, harmony and line, instead of just technique. In Germany, expressionism had become popular. Many artists depicted their dissatisfaction with the state of the world through their art; Pain, and suffering were common themes. These new themes and styles heavily departed from classic ideals in art, which were the ideals Hitler valued. When he rose to power, he banned much of the art at the time which he considered “Degenerate”. The nazis would go on to confiscate thousands of works deemed “degenerate”, in addition to confiscating paintings from their jewish owners.
Today, artworks that were stolen by the nazis are still being returned to their rightful owners(or descendants). Recently a man in Germany had his art collection confiscated since some the works he owns are suspected of being nazi loot. Cornelius Gurrlit inherited over 1,000 works of art from his father who was a nazi era art dealer; many of the works are highly valuable, being done by famous artists like picasso and matisse. Only about 38 paintings are suspected of being nazi loot, and the man is cooperating with authorities.