The Dutch police reported that the 17th century painting “Two Laughing Boys with a Mug of Beer” by Frans Hals was stolen for the third time. The work, dating from around 1626, was stolen from the Hofje van Aerden Museum in Leerdam.
According to the police, on the night of August 26, thieves knocked out the back door of the museum, after which the alarm went off. Law enforcement officers arrived at the scene at about half-past three at night, but by this time, the attackers had already disappeared along with the painting. The criminals could not be found either in the museum or nearby. Forensic experts and experts from the National Investigation Department are investigating the incident.
The painting has already been stolen from this private museum twice – in 1988 and 2011. Both times, together with it, they stole the same painting by Jacob van Ruisdael.
Shores Fröhlich, mayor of the municipality that houses the museum, reported the kidnapping on Twitter, calling it sad news from the art world. One of the commentators noted that it seemed strange to him that the picture of Hals was being stolen for the third time, and suggested simply hanging it a little higher.
Famous artist Frans Hals is the true founder of the Dutch art school. Lots of his paintings are displayed at the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum. Lots of his paintings are displayed at the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum. The most famous of them is Portrait of a Married Couple, which was created in the years 1621-1622.
Last spring, thieves entered the Singer Laren Museum in Holland and stole Vincent van Gogh’s painting Parson’s Garden at Nuenen in Spring(1884), lent by the Groningen Museum. The work has not yet been returned.
