A valuable painting by the famous Belgian artist Jacob Jordaens has been returned to the family of a Flemish resistance hero. The painting was stolen by the Nazis in World War II and eventually ended up in the ceiling of a Dutch antiquarian. Via a Nuenen art dealer, the painting was reunited with the relatives of the owner: “Everything fell into place.”
“We have often had to deal with robbery, but then it is mainly about the smaller works,” says Paul Dumay, one of the owners of Art Dumay where the painting was valued. “It is really exceptional that it happens on this scale.” The value of the painting is estimated at 800,000 euros.
The painting ‘The return of the Holy Family of the flight to Egypt’ Was owned by the Flemish resistance fighter Joseph Scheppers de Bergstein. In May 1940 he was arrested and held by the Germans for a few months.
When he returned to his estate, he found out that the Nazis had lived in his house. They also brought a number of valuable paintings and objects. Jordaens’ painting had disappeared.
In February 1944, Scheppers De Bergstein was arrested by the Gestapo, the secret German police, because of the accommodation of other resistance fighters. He was taken to the Ellrich labor camp in Germany where he died later that year.
Hidden in the ceiling
After the war, the painting ended up with the Dutch antiquarian Jan van Gool, who got the stolen work from a German acquaintance. Van Gool did not trust the origin of the painting and therefore decided to hide it in a double ceiling in his house in the Ardèche in the South of France.
“Just before his death, Van Gool told his heirs about the painting,” says Melanie Dumay, the other owner of Art Dumay. “It was found in the ceiling and then it ended up here through a friend of us.” The painting was not in the best state when it arrived in Nuenen, “the panel had already been torn off.”
Yet, according to Paul Dumay, the stolen work still has an exceptional potential. “It has been in the ceiling for 60 to 70 years,” he says. “Fungus could have been added, the paint could have let go or if there could have been vermin. That didn’t happen.”
Search for the heirs
The studio dived into the archives and soon found out via an online database that it was indeed the stolen painting of Jordaens. “It made it easier for us, because we knew that the work was obtained from a German man and that there were already suspicions.” Then the Dumay’s tipped the Dutch and Belgian governments who went looking for the relatives.
“The heirs were overwhelmed,” says Melanie Dumay. “The moment they were contacted, they knew nothing about it. They never talked about their grandfather. Some people then dived into the archives.” The relatives also visited the studio in Nuenen to admire the work with their own eyes. “That moment was very emotional.”
The artwork was cleaned and stabilized in Nuenen so that it could be safely transported to the restorer. “That was done by a Belgian woman, not by ourselves. We thought that was appropriate.” According to Paul Dumay, the work is therefore important cultural heritage in Belgium. “Jacob Jordaens was one of the three most important baroque painters for the country.”
Cultural heritage
The painting was officially handed over to the relatives in Mechelen on Wednesday, Melanie Dumay was there. “Everything actually came together. Our studio existed for 25 years on that day and the work was returned to the family,” she says. “In all those years we have never experienced anything like that.”
Paul Dumay also underlines the special story of the painting. “That the current owner wanted to give the painting back is especially moral and ethically a really beautiful thing.”