News item | 04-02-2022 | 16:22
The purchase process of the painting The Standard Bearer (1636) by Rembrandt is completed. The painting has since arrived in the Netherlands and has been placed under management at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. A plan is currently being drawn up to introduce the painting to the Netherlands. More information about this will be announced shortly.
At the end of January, the state and the seller carried out all actions related to the purchase of De Vaandeldrager. The sale and purchase agreement has been signed and the painting has been delivered. The painting is housed in the Rijksmuseum’s restoration studio.
On January 18, 2022, the Senate approved the purchase proposal, after the House of Representatives approved the amendment to the budget of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science for the year 2022 on December 16, 2021.
For centuries the painting was privately owned, including by the King of England and since 1844 by the De Rothschild family. Now it will be accessible to everyone. The communication and education plan for the painting will follow shortly, including the tour through all provinces in the Netherlands, so that everyone can admire De Vaandeldrager. After the tour through the Netherlands, the painting will definitively be given a place in the Hall of Fame of the Rijksmuseum.
De Vaandeldrager is one of Rembrandt’s absolute masterpieces and is inextricably linked to the history of the Netherlands. Standard bearers led the way in the Eighty Years’ War, which led to the birth of the Netherlands. In this large self-portrait, Rembrandt paints himself rebellious and full of bravado. It was his artistic breakthrough that would lead to De Nachtwacht.
The purchase of De Vaandeldrager is a combination of public and private financing, to which the Rembrandt Association and the Rijksmuseum Fund have also contributed.