Placeholder Content Image

Museum calls on Dutch government for a $270 million helping hand

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Dutch government is backing an expensive venture by Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum to purchase a $270 million Rembrandt self-portrait. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The painting, known as </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Standard Bearer (1636)</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, is one of the last masterpieces by the Dutch artist still in the hands of a private collector. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The artwork is going up for sale by the Rothschild family, who have had the painting in their possession since 1844, after it belonged to the King of England. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Financial pledges have come from </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Rembrandt Association, the Rijksmuseum Fund, the Dutch state and the museum’s acquisition fund in order to afford the artwork’s hefty price tag. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits, the organisation has been trying to procure the painting for almost five years. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a statement, the museum said that the 22 works by Rembrandt in the Hague’s collection provide an “overview of the artist’s life,” and that the present work, being “one of the first paintings that Rembrandt made after he established himself as an independent artist in Amsterdam … has so far been the missing link in this overview.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the sale has yet to be closed, Dutch officials are already celebrating the new addition to the world-famous collection.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ingrid van Engelshoven, the Dutch minister of education, culture, and science, said in a statement, “After a journey of centuries, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Standard Bearer</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is now returning home for good.” </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Art

Placeholder Content Image

5 of the most valuable stolen artworks that are still at large

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Valuable artwork around the world has been stolen in daring heists over the years, by those brave, and foolish enough to attempt the high-stakes robberies.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In years past, stolen works of art have been lost or hidden, and remain at large to this day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These classic works are valued at millions of dollars each, with art collectors and historians alike working to track them down. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While there are hundreds out there, take a look at just five of these stunning works of valuable art, and keep your eyes open for them!</span></p> <p><br />1. <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Concert</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842908/the-concert.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/2ab630df0e4d47778578072bb8ee03b5" /></p> <p><em>Image credit: Johannes Vermeer</em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In March 1990, two men walked into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston adorned in police uniforms and left with over half a billion dollars worth of art. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the pieces they stole was The Concert by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, who only ever painted 34 artworks. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The painting was valued at $333 million dollars, making it one of the most valuable paintings ever sold.</span></p> <p>2.<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt van Rijn</span></p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842910/the-storm-on-the-sea.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b7545e3f382b48e8a4df968f5dd3ba08" /></p> <p><em>Image credit: <span style="font-weight: 400;">Rembrandt van Rijn</span><br /><br /></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Among those also stolen in the Boston museum heist of 1990 was The Storm on the Sea by Galilee, painted by Rembrant van Rijn in 1633.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The painting captures the Bible story of the disciples desperately trying to control a boat in a challenging storm. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The estimated value of the painting is $133 million.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">3. Poppy Flowers by Vincent van Gogh</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842907/poppy-flowers.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/715a4d52f980497e9a66225f3710beac" /></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Vincent Van Gogh</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One person was arrested for the theft of Van Gogh’s Poppy Flowers, but not the person who stole it. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instead Egypt's Deputy Culture Minister Mohsen Shaalan was jailed in 2010 for gross negligence when the painting was snatched from Cairo's Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The artwork, which had already been stolen once before, is valued at $73 million.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">4. View of Auvers-sur-Oise by Paul Cezanne</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842911/view-of-auvers-sur-oise.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/376cef25bf204779b6f5bd8ffffa3ce2" /></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Paul Cezanne</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Paul Cezanne's View of Auvers-sur-Oise was snatched on New Years’ Eve 1999 from a museum at Oxford University.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The thieves relied on a smoke bomb, and the fact that everyone was reigning in the new year, to slip away undetected. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The artwork is valued at $5.5 million. </span></p> <p>5. <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen by Vincent van Gogh<br /></span><em><br /><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842909/the-parsonage-garden.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/3ec163f7092f418ca1bf64bfe109f284" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></em></p> <p><em>Image credit: Vincent van Gogh</em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This van Gogh painting was stolen from a museum in The Netherlands in March 2020; just after the beginning of the pandemic.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The thief used a sledgehammer on the glass doors of the gallery and disappeared with the artwork before the police arrived. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A man was arrested for the robbery in April this year, but the artwork was never recovered and is currently valued at $9 million.</span></p> <p> </p>

Art