Family from Rumbeke found stolen Ensor in ’80 and talk for the first time
For 42 years the family with four children has been silent. But now they are finally making it known. Two years after a sensational art theft from the Ostend museum, they found a painting by Ensor in 1980 during a day at the sea, in the sand, in the dunes of Mariakerke. Christa Verledens : “We kept silent about it for 42 years. Only the family knew. It was our wedding anniversary and we took a trip, first an air baptism. But the children were difficult and imbetant, so we went to the dunes to get some wells. to make.”
And that beach day is important in the art history of our country. In the dunes, Christa found one of the three Ensors that had been stolen from the municipal museum on the Wapenplein in Ostend in March 1978. “The canvas was in a black plastic suit. Suddenly I saw the name ‘Ensor’. And then a bell started ringing. I knew that paintings had been stolen, but then you do not immediately think that this is one of those canvases. ” (read more below the photo)
The family then chose not to publicize the discovery of the self-portrait with a flower hat. “Secretly we wrapped that suit in a blanket and took it to the gendarmerie in Ostend. Until we took the suit out and opened it completely, they said: do you realize what you’ve got here?”
At the time, 900,000 Belgian francs for the finders’ wages had been promised. And the family did get a sum of money, but not that much. “We are pleased with what we have received. We have built a terrace with it.” And for the family it was all over. They opted for anonymity in Rumbeke for 42 years. Kunstuur organizer Joost Bourlon has now tracked down the family. In Mechelen, the story is discussed in their Kunstuur exhibition.
Jean Huys, former head attendant at the Ostend Museum of Fine Arts, said in 2010: “The case caused a stir because the art thieves hid the works for two years. They wanted 5 kilos of gold and a pack of Deutsche Mark in exchange. The newspapers were full of what when already the largest art theft ever in our country was mentioned.”
The other two works were also found. The thieves were never caught, and it is not clear whether a ransom was ever paid.