Art detective Arthur Brand suspects that the five paintings that were stolen from the former city hall of Medemblik last week were not the intended loot. “On the other hand: you don’t just take five paintings with you.”
Still, Brand suspects that for decades looted art, that the perpetrators know little or nothing about the paintings they pulled from the wall in the building on Dam Square. “Because these are portraits of rich, decent men, they may have thought they must be worth something. If I hadn’t been an expert, I might have thought the same: it’s not for nothing that it hangs in an old town hall.”
These are portraits of William of Orange, Maurice of Orange, Count Jan van Nassau and of Radboud, King of the Frisians. Especially the portrait of the latter has a lot of historical value for Medemblik, because the king is said to have had his castle in Medemblik. It is said that the castle in Medemblik, built by Floris V, was built on the foundations of that castle. In the last century it was decided to name the castle after Radboud.
“If they wanted advice, I would have advised them otherwise”
Yesterday, the Medemblik alderman Jeroen Broeders already announced that the paintings have historical value for Medemblik, but are not worth very much in euros. Brand estimates the value of each painting at ‘several thousand euros’. “But you better steal five bikes, because you won’t lose them on the paving stones.”
He advises the thieves to ‘put them somewhere’. “Then there is also a chance that the police will stop the investigation.”
‘Clunk robbery’
Art historian Martijn Pieters from De Goorn is also surprised about the robbery. “Because there is not really anything valuable in Medemblik. If they had wanted advice, I would have advised them something else,” he says jokingly.
“Medemblik is not in the top 10 in the Netherlands [als het gaat om waardevolle kunst, red]Hoorn and Enkhuizen do. I think the burglars thought: we take something with us and we’ll see. A bit of a klutz robbery.”
In addition to the five paintings, a barometer and a chandelier (see photos above) were also stolen during the robbery. Like the paintings, they are the property of the municipality. The building from which the art was stolen is not. The owner of the property discovered the burglary and theft.
Previous art thefts in the province
Read later tonight NH publishes a story about previous art thefts in the province, including some with millions of euros in loot.
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