Restitution Committee advises return of Goudstikker painting
The committee considers it plausible that a painting by Jan van Goyen disappeared from the collection through wartime forced loss.
The Restitution Committee has advised the Minister of Education, Culture and Science to return a painting by Jan van Goyen to the heirs of art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. The work is part of the Dutch national collection and is managed by the Mauritshuis.
It concerns Fishermen by the Lakeshore, or Vissers aan de oevers van een plas in Dutch. The committee concludes that the painting originally belonged to the stock of Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker and entered Hermann Göring’s collection in 1940 through a forced sale.
To reach that conclusion, the NIOD Expertise Centre for Restitution of Cultural Property and the Second World War examined archival material. Among other things, the committee compared photographic cards from Goudstikker’s archive with material from Göring’s archive. Administrative documents also point to the same provenance, according to the committee.
The committee describes the loss of the painting as involuntary. Goudstikker’s widow did not agree to the transactions, and the art dealership continued after the German invasion under circumstances that, according to the committee, were closely connected to the Nazis’ position of power.
The advice does not constitute an automatic return. The final decision rests with the minister. The committee does advise disregarding a procedural obstacle related to earlier court rulings and old restitution agreements.
The case is part of a longer series of restitution requests by the heirs. The committee previously advised returning 202 works to the family, followed later by three more. The state adopted those recommendations, but the handling of the various transactions and procedures differed from case to case.
With its new advice, the committee emphasises that works outside earlier settlements can also be reassessed when archival research makes the original ownership and forced loss sufficiently plausible. Whether the painting will actually be returned to the heirs now depends on the ministerial decision.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The Restitution Committee advises returning the painting to the heirs.
- The painting belongs to the national collection and is managed by the Mauritshuis.
- The minister still has to decide on the implementation of the advice.
Left
Arguments The state should return looted art when it is plausible that ownership was lost through persecution or coercion. Procedural objections should not block redress for historical injustice.
Values Legal redress, historical responsibility and the protection of persecuted communities.
Consequences A generous policy can restore trust, but requires continued research and may generate new claims.
Centre
Arguments Restitution should be carefully assessed on a case-by-case basis in terms of ownership, forced loss and evidence. The committee and the minister provide an institutional procedure for this.
Values Due care, legal certainty and independent historical research.
Consequences Individual assessment prevents arbitrariness, but makes the process lengthy and can be frustrating for the families involved.
Right
Arguments The government should exercise restraint when returning property if ownership or transfer is legally complex. An advice can be morally compelling without every historical claim automatically leading to restitution.
Values Property, legal certainty and the protection of public collections.
Consequences Restraint limits the effect of precedents, but may be seen as perpetuating earlier injustice when the evidence is convincing.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
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The core is based on the Restitution Committee’s official advice and accompanying explanation. The article corrects the impression that the return is already final by consistently referring to an advice.
- confirmed The Restitution Committee advises returning a painting by Jan van Goyen to the heirs of Jacques Goudstikker. — Stated in the committee’s recommendation. source
- confirmed The work is part of the Dutch national collection and is held by the Mauritshuis. — Mentioned in the description of the procedure. source
- confirmed The painting entered Hermann Göring’s collection in 1940 through a forced sale. — Based on the archival research described by the committee. source
- confirmed The committee previously advised returning 202 works and later three more. — Overview of earlier Goudstikker recommendations. source
- confirmed The minister still has to make a final decision. — The committee issues advice to the minister; the advice itself is not an implementation decision. source
Editor's note
The advice, provenance and procedural status are taken directly from the Restitution Committee. The minister still has to decide; that is why the article does not say that the actual return has already taken place.Sources
- Goudstikker III - Recommendation — Restitutions Committee
- Restitutions Committee recommends restitution of Van Goyen painting belonging to Jacques Goudstikker — Restitutions Committee
- Jacques Goudstikker — Wikipedia
More on this in Dutch media
- AD — „roofkunst jacques goudstikker”
- de Volkskrant — „roofkunst jacques goudstikker”
- RTL Nieuws — „roofkunst jacques goudstikker”