Art of Her

The Dutch Senate approved the purchase of Rembrandt's painting "The Standard-Bearer" in 1636. The government will contribute €150 million, and the Rembrandt Association and the Rijksmuseum will pay €25 million. Thus, the final cost was €10 million more than previously expected.

Despite the yes vote, many senators expressed concern about the purchase. The work will be acquired from the Rothschild family through a trust located in the Cook Islands, whose holding company is located in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the offshore financial center of the West Indies, writes The Guardian.

Some senators questioned the timing of the acquisition of the work during the pandemic, and they are also interested in whether it is possible to guarantee the authenticity of the work or the ownership of it. Minister of Culture Gunay Uslu, who previously worked as an art critic and curator, considers this canvas "inextricably linked with the history of the Netherlands": the artist portrayed himself in the image of a flag bearer who were on the front line in the battles of the Eighty Years' War, the War for the Independence of the Netherlands. To dispel doubts, the official said that an examination was carried out.

France was also interested in acquiring the painting, which had the status of a national treasure, but in December 2021 announced that it could not raise enough funds. By the way, in 2016 France and the Netherlands jointly bought from Baron Eric de Rothschild the portraits of Martin Solmans and Opien Coppitt by Rembrandt with a total value of €160 million. The canvases are always exhibited together and alternately in the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre.

As for the "Flag Bearer", he will go on a tour of the Netherlands before ending up in the Gallery of Fame of the Rijksmuseum.