Leiden Univ. to give smoking old white men painting a prominent place, and explanation

Leiden University will give a controversial painting of older white men smoking cigars in a prominent place and a sign explaining its significance. Rein Dool’s artwork from the 1970s shows the executive board of the time. While it is not representative, it “depicts a unique, historical image of the time,” the university said, Omroep West reports.

In November, university employees removed the painting from the wall in one of the meeting rooms. They found it outdated to be given such a place of prominence. The matter caused a commotion that reached all the way to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament.

The university described the removal as “an action with a wink but also with a serious undertone.” It put the painting back up and set up a committee to investigate how to “do better justice to the work.”

Based on the committee’s advice, the painting will hang in the Reception Room of the Academy Building with a “good, substantive explanation” of what the painting depicts - “highly valued former administrators of our university” and “a unique, historical image of the time.”

The university is also establishing a new Art and Debate Committee for the Academy Building. This new committee will be the point of contact for questions and complaints about art objects and exhibitions at the university.