The House of Representatives has approved the purchase of Rembrandt’s painting ‘De Vaandeldrager’, for which the cabinet is allocating 150 million euros. The Senate must also approve the purchase before the sale is finalized. That reports the ANP.
Also read: Dutch state wants to pay 150 million euros for Rembrandt’s ‘De Vaandeldrager’
De Vaandeldrager, an important self-portrait from 1636, is one of Rembrandt’s last privately owned masterpieces. The French banking family De Rothschild sells it for 175 million euros. The Rembrandt Association has pledged 15 million euros, the Rijksmuseum Fund 10 million. The remaining 150 million comes from the Dutch state.
This publication is controversial against the background of the difficulties in the cultural sector as a result of the corona measures. Left-wing opposition parties wanted the cabinet to also spend 150 million euros on a safety net scheme for self-employed workers in the sector. But a proposal to that effect from GroenLinks, SP, PvdA, PvdD, BIJ1, Volt, BBB and the Den Haan faction did not receive a majority.
Outgoing minister Ingrid van Engelshoven (Education, Culture and Science, D66) acknowledged that the timing of the acquisition is “extremely unfortunate”. earlier suggested she, however, that the purchase „one of the most beautiful Rembrandts accessible [maakt] for everyone”, and ensures that “De Vaandeldrager will forever remain a Dutch public property”.
Tour through the Netherlands
Also read: Buy a Rembrandt now? The timing couldn’t be worse
When the sale is final, the cabinet wants the painting to go on tour through the Netherlands and to be shown to the public in all provinces, the Rijksmuseum stated last week in a statement. a press release. Exactly what that tour will look like has not yet been announced. The work, described as ‘Rembrandt’s last masterpiece of national importance’, will eventually be given a place in the Rijksmuseum’s Hall of Fame.
The De Rothschild family put the canvas up for sale in July 2018. The Rijksmuseum immediately indicated that it wanted to buy the work. However, the French Ministry of Culture announced in April 2019 that it did not want to issue an export license for the painting. This gave French museums thirty months to purchase De Vaandeldrager. That term expired in October without a French party doing so.
In 2015, the Dutch state bought the Rembrandt-painted wedding portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit from another branch of the De Rothschild family. The Netherlands purchased these works jointly with France. The two countries each paid 80 million euros for this. These canvases may only be exhibited in the Louvre in Paris or the Rijksmuseum.
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