It's about restorative dispute between the heirs of a Jewish industrialist Richard Semmel and Dutch museums for paintings by Bernardo Strozzi, Jan van Scorel and other Old Masters

Bernardo Strozzi
Jesus Christ and the Samaritan woman at the well
Source: bloomberg.com


MARTIN Frans van der Hulst
view of the river with a jetty
Source: bloomberg. com

Heirs of Jewish industrialist Richard Semmel (Richard Semmel) denied the restitution of two works by the Old Masters from the collections of Dutch museums under the pretext that this most important museums of paintings . We are talking about a work of Bernardo Strozzi "Jesus Christ and the Samaritan woman at the well" from the collection of Museum de Fundatie in Heino and work of Jan van Scorel "Madonna with the infant Jesus and wild roses" from the collection of the Central Museum in Utrecht. Another work - a landscape "Hunting deer in the wilderness," brush Gerrit Claesz Blecker from the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem - heirs refused to return because of lack of evidence that it was part of a collection of Semmel.

Richard Semmel at one time was one of the leading apparel manufacturers in the German capital. At his villa in Berlin, he was holding a huge collection of paintings and antiques. However, with the coming to power of the Nazi industrialist was persecuted and forced to emigrate with his wife in the Netherlands in April 1933. Collection he had to sell in two auctions. In 1941, the former textile magnate emigrated to the United States and there is barely making ends meet.

Although Semmel works from the collection have not been directly taken by the Nazis, the heirs of tycoon forced to consider selling them. In such circumstances, the last word in a restorative dispute is often for the heirs. But at this time. Dutch restitution committee since 2002 giving advice to the government on the return of certain works of art to relatives of victims of the Holocaust, this time refrained from such advice. The members of the committee argued the refusal of restitution that the heirs of Richard Semmel are not his direct descendants and does not consist with him in kinship. Heiress - two granddaughters old family friend Semmel Greta Grosse Eisenstadt (Grete Gross-Eisenstaedt). Greta was the companion of Richard Semmel in New York after the death of his wife. Childless Semmel left her entire fortune. According to the Dutch Restitution Commission, granddaughter Greta Grosse Eisenstadt, now living in South Africa, have no relation to Richard Semmel, never seen it and do not remember anything about these paintings.

Fourth picture, which demanded that the Netherlands granddaughter Gross Eisenstadt, will be handed over to them. This work of Martin Frans Van Der Hulst "View of the river from the dock." In this case, the picture of the Groninger Museum owns little or no interest in its preservation, as Hulst does not work with the overall theme of the collection. A negative decision of the commission on the three other works heirs are going to challenge it.

Prepared by Mary Onuchina, AI

Source: artinvestment.ru