On June 10, the painting View of Beverwijk, a unique cityscape that Salomon van Ruysdael made in 1646, will be auctioned at Christie’s in New York, in which the Wijkertoren plays a prominent role. Because the painting is expected to yield more than half a million, there is a good chance that it will disappear into the private collection of an art collector in a faraway country. Nevertheless, appraiser Jeroen Zoetmulder sees opportunities to bring the painting to Beverwijk.
It is quite exceptional that this painting comes on the market: since 1982 it has been part of the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. But he has decided to give it back to the Jewish family from whom it was robbed in World War II. And that family is now going to auction the work, it was announced at the end of January of this year.
Financial contribution
According to Zoetmulder, the painting belongs in Beverwijk and should one day be on display in the Kennemerland Museum, of which he is co-director. He has since made several attempts to convince local politicians and funds to make a financial contribution.
But both the municipality of Beverwijk and the Rembrandt Association announced that they thought the price was too high. That is why Zoetmulder also appealed to the local Quote 500 members, who might want to buy the painting as an investment. Here he is now more successful.
Plenty of ammo to shoot
Zoetmulder has already booked the ticket to New York. He can’t say how high he can go with his bid for technical reasons, but he says he has enough ammunition to shoot.
“There is now one investor across the bridge. If a generous investor joins us now, we stand a good chance of bringing the painting to Beverwijk,” Zoetmulder tells NH. “Anything can happen between now and June 10. And things can also turn out differently at the auction itself than expected. Everything is possible.”
Documentary
Zoetmulder is closely followed by NH Nieuws in his far-reaching attempt to get the painting ‘home’. Journalist Lex Boon and filmmaker Robbert Bianchi follow the art lover in both Beverwijk and New York. They are making a documentary about the painting and its significance for the people of Beverwijk on behalf of NH.
The documentary will be shown on NH Nieuws on 8 July.
Watch a preview of the documentary below, in which Jeroen Zoetmulder and Lex Boon view a full-sized print at the Wijkertoren.