Ministry of Culture of the Netherlands reported that return 13 paintings from the collections of national museums to the heirs of Jewish collectors, affected by the actions of the Nazis. According to Culture Minister Ronald Plasterk (Ronald Plasterk), 12 works, including the work of Jan van Goyen (Jan van Goyen) «Village winter», will be returned to the heirs of Hans Ludwig Larsen (Hans Ludwig Larsen). And another painting - Portrait of Thomas de Keyser (Thomas de Keyser), which has so far kept in the museum in Gouda - will be transferred to the heirs of Richard Semmel (Richard Semmel).

Return of the paintings will be held in accordance with the recommendation of the commission to resolve the restitution disputes. It was founded in the Netherlands in 2002 and has since dismantled the 75 similar cases. According to the decision of the Commission, Hans Larsen lost his pictures «in circumstances directly related to the Nazi regime». As Semmel, he alleged, was forced to sell the work of de Keyser, to leave the occupied Netherlands.

After the death of Larsen in 1937, his wife and two children fled to the United States shortly before the Second World War. Time belonged to Larsen, the work was accepted for storage by the museum in Leiden, and then sold by the Nazis. Heirs Larsen got the money for this sale, so on the recommendation of the commission, they should pay 325 thousand euro to the State to offset the cost of paintings.

From the heirs of Richard Semmel no payment is required - no evidence that the collector received the money for the work of de Keyser, was not found.

Simultaneously restitution commission rejected the claim on several works, which have the right heirs of the brothers Nathan Katz and Benjamin Katz (Nathan and Benjamin Katz) - gallerists Jewish origin. In March 2007, the daughter of Nathan Sybil Goldstein-Katz (Sybilla Goldstein-Katz) submitted a request for the return of her 227 works. And now the commission has refused to give her 31 work, including works of Frans Hals (Frans Hals) and Salomon van Ruysdael (Salomon van Ruysdael), arguing that the lack of evidence that the artifacts really belong Katsam.

According to representatives of Restitution Commission Evelio Kampfens (Evelien Campfens), a decision on the rest of the works mentioned in the lawsuit, will be made no earlier than next year. She also reported that the case was divided into two parts in order to quickly resolve the issue of works, immediately claimed by several plaintiffs. The fact that the canvas by Jan van Goyen, which belonged to Hans Larsen, and the portrait by Thomas de Keyser, who will revert to the heirs of Richard Semmel, also on the list of claims, Sybil Goldstein-Katz.

article prepared by Catherine Onuchina, AI

Sources: bloomberg.com , artinvestment.ru