Mauritshuis able to keep its Rembrandts following legal dispute

A court has ruled that the Mauritshuis in The Hague can keep a bequest of 25 paintings, including five Rembrandts, after a dispute over the wording of a 1944 will written in Monaco by former museum director Abraham Bredius. The will stated in French that the works “devront rester exposés exclusivement dans ledit Musée,” and heirs of Bredius’s partner Joseph Kronig argued this required all paintings to be continuously displayed rather than partly stored in a depot and rotated. Heir Otto Kronig said the case was about respecting the testator’s wishes, and the heirs’ lawyer, Gert Jan van den Bergh, said they would appeal. The Mauritshuis said it displays part of the bequest permanently and rotates the rest, and noted that Rembrandts including Saul and David (c. 1651–58) and Two African Men (1661) remain on view; cultural philanthropy scholar Olav Velthuis warned that an heirs’ victory on appeal could make museums more hesitant about accepting donations with strict display conditions.

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