Heirs demand that Mauritshuis return art historian's collection

The heirs of art historian and former Mauritshuis director Abraham Bredius (1855-1946) are demanding that the museum return 25 works of art. According to them, the museum is not adhering to agreements in Bredius’ will - not all works are hanging in the gallery, NRC reports.

Before his death in 1946, Bredius had agreed with the Mauritshuis to leave the museum a selection of his art collection, including masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn. The art historian was director of the Mauritshuis from 1889 to 1909 and the museum had asked him to donate the works. Bredius agreed but added a condition: the artworks had to always hang in the gallery, always in the Mauritshuis.

According to heirs, the Mauritshuis is not honoring this agreement because five of the 25 artworks are not on display. According to the agreement between Bredius and the museum, if the works disappeared into a depot, the heirs may reclaim them. The collection includes four works by Rembrandt and one by Van Ruysdael, which are all still on display. Not on display are works by Jan Steen, Van Dijk, and Moreelse, among others.

On Thursday, a summons was delivered to the Mauritshuis and the Dutch state, which owns the museum’s collection. The case is filed by descendants of Bredius’ “protége,” Joseph Kronig (1887-1984). Bredius was unmarried but spent a large part of his life with Kronig.

Lawyer Auke van Hoek told NRC that Kronig’s family was unable to find any evidence of a relationship between the two, but “he did not leave everything to him for no reason.” The lawyer stressed that the family isn’t doing this for the money. “From our side, it is: what is a will worth?”

The Mauritshuis refused to comment to NRC. “We received this news last week, but as long as this case is being investigated - and this could take a long time - we unfortunately cannot make any statements,” a spokesperson told the newspaper.