The works were valued at around £1 billion and included 121 framed pieces and 1,258 unframed works. Among them were paintings by masters such as Picasso, Renoir and Matisse.
Relatives and heirs of Jewish families who had work stolen by the Nazis had also attacked Mr Gurlitt, saying that attempts to obstruct restitution were as serious as the original looting.
Mr Gurlitt's father, Hildebrand, was an art dealer in the 1930s and was hired by the Nazis to collect artwork regarded as "degenerate" by the Third Reich.
