As a sort of secret operation, one of Rembrandt van Rijn’s masterpieces was brought into the Noordbrabants Museum in Den Bosch this week and hung there. The Vaandeldrager, with a value of 175 million, can be seen in Brabant from Saturday. “The painting has never been shown to the general public before,” says museum curator Floris van Alebeek.
At the age of 30, Rembrandt made De Vaandeldrager in his studio in Amsterdam. “What makes the painting so special is that Rembrandt already showed what he could do as a painter at that age,” explains Van Alebeek.
“This kind of artwork is hardly on the market anymore.”
The painting, which is now 380 years old, has not been in the Netherlands in recent centuries. Where the painting was all along, only the collector who owned the painting knows. At the end of January this year, the Dutch state had the opportunity to buy De Vaandeldrager for 175 million.
“These kinds of works of art hardly come on the market anymore. And the price of such works of art just keeps rising. The State probably saw this as the last chance to show this special work to the general public,” says the curator.
The purchase price is enormous compared to the last works that the museum acquired. The latest Van Gogh, for example, has a value of 1.6 million. “The value of De Vaandeldrager mainly has to do with supply and demand. Smaller works by Rembrandt are occasionally for sale, but not of such size and monumental character. While all kinds of affluent collectors would love to have one,” explains Van Alebeek.
“Transportation is a sort of covert operation that almost no one knows about.”
Because De Vaandeldrager is paid by the State, it is making a tour through the Netherlands. This way everyone can enjoy the purchase, is the idea. “It is the first time that one painting has traveled to all kinds of museums throughout the country. That is unique.”
But transporting such an expensive painting is a difficult job. A special team is responsible for that process. How this happened exactly is not disclosed for security reasons. “I don’t even know how, where and when the painting was brought to the museum,” says Van Alebeek. “And I also don’t know the type of bus in which the painting is transported or the color of the suitcase. Transport is a sort of covert operation that almost no one knows about.”
“You don’t want to take any risks with a job that costs 175 million.”
And now that the painting is hanging in the museum, quite a few extra security measures have been taken. Such as deploying extra security guards and setting time locks so that a maximum of forty visitors are in the room at the same time.
The painting itself is also well protected. De Vaandeldrager is surrounded by a glass display case that ensures that people cannot sit on the canvas. “You don’t want to take any risks with a job that costs 175 million.”
De Vaandeldrager can be seen in Brabant from 1 to 30 October.
