Tate Britain has announced that it will be returning a 17th Century painting to the family of a Jewish Belgian art collector, which was taken by the Nazis during World War Two. The painting in question, Henry Gibbs’ 1654 work titled Aeneas And His Family Fleeing Burning Troy, was seized by the Nazis as an “act of racial persecution”, as stated by the Spoliation Advisory Panel. This panel specifically deals with cases of looted artworks and resolves claims from individuals or their heirs who lost possession of cultural property during the Nazi era, which now resides in national collections in the UK.
The family of art collector Samuel Hartveld, who left the painting in Antwerp, Belgium in 1940 while fleeing with his wife, will now receive the painting. Arts Minister Sir Chris Bryant commended the panel for their efforts in reuniting families with their treasured possessions, emphasizing that this decision was the right one. The painting, which is currently not on display at the Tate, depicts scenes from Virgil’s epic Latin poem the Aeneid and is believed to be a commentary on the English Civil War.
Purchased by the Tate collection from the Galerie Jan de Maere in Brussels in 1994, the painting was acquired after Rene van den Broeck bought Mr. Hartveld’s collection and home for a minimal sum, following the war. Last year, the Sonia Klein Trust – established by Mr. Hartveld’s heirs – initiated a claim for the return of the artwork. In response to the decision to return the painting, the trustees expressed their deep gratitude, acknowledging the tragic Nazi persecution that Samuel Hartveld experienced.
Tate director Maria Balshaw highlighted the privilege of reuniting the painting with its rightful heirs, stating her delight in seeing the successful spoliation process at work. She also mentioned that although the painting’s provenance was thoroughly investigated upon acquisition in 1994, key details surrounding its previous ownership were unknown at the time. Looking ahead, Balshaw expressed her anticipation for presenting the painting back to the trust in the upcoming months
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