NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of "The Rape of Europa" at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.
"The Rape of Europa" tells the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe's art treasures during the Third Reich and the Second World War, according to information at streamingmoviesright.com/us/movie/the-rape-of-europa/.
In a journey through seven countries, the film takes the audience into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For 12 long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But young art professionals as well as ordinary heroes, from truck drivers to department store clerks, fought back with an extraordinary effort to safeguard, rescue and return the millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures, the website said.
"The Rape of Europa" begins and ends with the story of artist Gustav Klimt's famed Gold Portrait, stolen from Viennese Jews in 1938 and now the most expensive painting ever sold.
Today, more than 70 years later, the legacy of this tragic history continues to play out as families recover major works of art, conservators repair battle damage, and nations fight over the fate of ill-gotten spoils of war.
This screening is part of the School of Art's monthly Friday Night Film Series and is sponsored in part by the Nacogdoches Junior Forum.
Because "Texas Art Quilts 1993-2011" is currently showing in Cole Art Center, refreshments will not be served. Neither food nor beverages are allowed in the display areas while the exhibition is up.
The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.
Axe ’Em, Jacks!