--Previous Message--
: Right now I am in the middle of a discussion
: on facebook about it, with a friend who
: thinks it a shame that the painting is not
: given to a Dutch museum, of course with the
: usual complaint that "they cost us so
: much money, let them give something
: back". Rather tiresome IMHO. Without
: the donation of King Willem I's paintings to
: the state, the Mauritshuis collection
: wouldn't have excisted. The millions the the
: "Attic Clearance" sale of royal
: items in 2011 brought, all went to charity,
: what more do they want??
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: There's an interesting and some would say
: disturbing article by NRC about the sale of
: artworks by the DRF in recent years. A
: remarkable transaction and story pertains
: the painting 'Boschbrand' or Forest Fire by
: famous painter Raden Saleh, The huge
: painting was given by the painter to King
: Willem III in 1850 as a token of
: appreciation for the fact that the Dutch
: state apparently financially supported the
: painter for many years. The painting was
: placed in Palace het Loo and Huis ten Bosch
: for years until it was removed, carelessly
: rolled up (and folded) and stored in an
: attic and later ended up in a national
: depot. The painting was forgotten but was
: found 10 years ago due to the efforts /
: research by a Dutch Raden Saleh expert. She
: immediately saw the importance of this last
: painting by Raden Saleh in the Royal
: Collection and advocated to have the
: painting restored and exhibited in one the
: Dutch National museums. After its discovery
: the painting quickly found its way back to
: the Royal Family and was considered to have
: been the property of Queen Juliana. Her 4
: daughters then gave the painting to the 12
: grandchildren who subsequently had it
: restored, apparently for the sole purpose of
: selling it, and sold it in 2014 to the
: National Gallery in Singapore for between
: 3-5 mln dollars without offering it to Dutch
: museums or Dutch collectors first.
: Ironically the painting would probably have
: fetched much more at a public auction but
: the family wanted to be discrete....
:
: I had the pleasure of seeing the painting
: up front in the National Gallery in
: Singapore where it is considered one of the
: highlights of the collection. Its a
: stunning painting, probably one of the most
: impressive by Raden Saleh and IMHO a great
: pity it was never to be acquired by the
: Rijksmuseum or Tropenmuseum as part of our
: National Heritage.
:
: NRC article
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