Ludwig von Baldass

[1] He studied under Max Dvořák at the University of Vienna and began to lecture there in 1926, gaining the position of professor in 1934.

[2] Other publications include articles and books on Jan van Eyck (1952), Hieronymus Bosch (1953), Giorgione (d. 1510) and Albrecht Altdorfer (d.

When the Reich began a campaign of plundering works from Jewish collectors, members of the Rothschild family attempted to leave the country, taking their paintings with them.

Von Baldass, acting as a faithful Nazi party member, resisted and frustrated their efforts in a bid to prevent the works from leaving Austria.

After the war, Louis Rothschild attempted to reclaim parts of his collection, but von Baldass made use of his influence and bargained that some pieces should stay in the care of the state Kunsthistorisches Museum, in return for the passage of a number of others back to the Rothschild family.