Dutch Court Lets Mauritshuis Keep Bredius Bequest of 25 Paintings
A Dutch court has ruled that the Mauritshuis in The Hague does not have to return a bequest of 25 paintings, including five works by Rembrandt, left to the museum by its former director Abraham Bredius (1855-1946). The decision turns on a single line in a 1944 will made in Monaco, which stated in French that the works “devront rester exposés exclusivement dans ledit Musée” — they must remain exclusively on display in that museum.
The heirs of Bredius’s partner, Joseph Kronig, argued that the museum had not met that condition because not every work in the gift is permanently on view. They said the will did not account for storage in a nearby depot or for making works available only on request or online. Otto Kronig said in a statement that the family was not trying to reclaim the art, but to defend Bredius’s final wishes. Their lawyer, Gert Jan van den Bergh, said they would take the case to the appeal court to test the principle that museums should follow the terms of a will only “until a museum finds it inconvenient.”
The Mauritshuis welcomed the ruling and said the collection is handled in line with the bequest’s conditions. According to the museum, part of the group is on permanent display and the rest appears in temporary exhibitions.
The Bredius bequest also includes paintings by Jan Steen and Salomon van Ruysdael. Among the Rembrandt works still on view are Saul and David (c.1651-58) and Two African Men (1661).
The case has broader implications for museums that depend on gifts and bequests. Olav Velthuis, a sociology professor at the University of Amsterdam who studies cultural philanthropy, said that if the heirs prevail on appeal, museums may become more cautious about accepting donations, since new acquisitions inevitably compete with older gifts for wall space and attention. He noted that guaranteeing permanent display is a promise museums are rarely able, or willing, to make.
The dispute also echoes an earlier case in London, where the art dealer Angus Neill asked the National Gallery to return his gift, Christ Carrying the Cross (c.1500), attributed to the workshop of Giovanni Bellini, after it was taken off display. For museums, the Bredius case is a reminder that the language of a bequest can remain legally potent long after the gallery walls have changed.
