Rijksmuseum buys "Dutch girl" painting for €5.2 million

The Rijksmuseum bought an 18th century painting by Jean-Etienne Liotard titled Dutch girl at breakfast for nearly 5.2 million euros. The painting, which was owned by a British noble family for over 240 years, is the first purchase made by new director Taco Dibbits, the Telegraaf reports.

This week the British government issued an export license for the painting to be brought to the Netherlands.

Liotard painted the artwork around 1756, while staying in the Netherlands. The Rijksmuseum calls it an intimate ode to the art of the Golden age. The painting will be displayed in the Rijksmuseum from mid-January.

The Rijksmuseum has been collecting pastels by Liotard since 1885. This oil painting of the Dutch girl is an important addition to that collection. 

Liotard was a Swiss-French artist who lived between 1702 and 1789. He was born and died in Geneva and was best known as a traveling pastel painter.