Fritz (Frederich) Unger (July 14, 1891 - 1954 Zürich) was an Austrian industrialist and art collector of Jewish heritage forced to flee Hitler's Third Reich.
In reality, however, the family never received these papers[5][9] Paintings obtained in this way from Unger by the Louvre include "Still Life with Musical Instruments", by Pieter Claesz (ca.
[12] Unger submitted a claim in 1946, however the French state refused the request because, as Le Monde put it, "the offending regime is the Republic" and the transaction was "Not a theft, not a forced sale, but a gift."
The family repeatedly requested that the French authorities reconsider their decision.In March 2004, Jacques Foucart, general curator of the department of paintings, interviewed by Le Monde, still considered that the case was clear and that any reconsideration of the donation would be an "abuse of interpretation".
[16] However, one of the looted paintings, "Madonna and Child, Saint John the Baptist and two angels," was rediscovered in the 21st century in the possession of the foundation created by the Italian art collector Francesco Federico Cerruti.
The Foundation Cerruti traced the ownership history of the painting, which Cerrutti had acquired at auction at Christie's, to the Galerie Fischer in Lucerne, Switzerland, where it had "appeared mysteriously" in 1974 , three decades after the Nazis seized it from the Ungers.