Researchers at the Dutch national archives in The Hague recently uncovered a declaration form from the late 1940s related to a missing artwork, “Le Repos,” by the 19th-century Impressionist Camille Pissarro. The form detailed the painting's dimensions and the artist's signature, capturing the attention of the researchers due to its historical significance.
The claimant, Jaap van den Bergh, stated that he was forced to sell the painting to survive during the war while hiding from the Nazis. Annelies Kool, a researcher, initiated a search that led to the painting being located at a German museum, the Kunsthalle Bremen, and to the discovery of a surviving heir, a daughter born after the war.
Following years of discussions, an agreement was reached allowing the Kunsthalle Bremen to retain the painting while collaborating on a book detailing the van den Bergh family’s tragic history. This agreement was announced at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, where the painting will be displayed until March.
Rudi Ekkart, a retired Dutch government restitution expert, emphasized the importance of sharing the family’s story, noting that the financial aspects were secondary to the heir, referred to as Suzan van den Bergh, who preferred to avoid a lengthy legal battle.
The van den Bergh family, who lived in Heemstede, went into hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Jaap and Ellen van den Bergh managed to survive, but their daughters, Rosemarie and Marianne, were tragically deported and perished in Auschwitz.
Eelke Muller, a researcher, assisted in reconstructing the family’s story for the book titled “The Girl in the Grass: The Tragic Fate of the Van den Bergh Family and the Search for a Painting.” The book includes photographs of the family and was partially funded by the Kunsthalle Bremen.
Christoph Grunenberg, director of the Kunsthalle Bremen, described the restitution agreement as an ideal solution that helps educate the public about the impact of World War II on personal lives. The estimated value of “Girl Lying in the Grass” remains undisclosed, though similar Pissarro works have fetched prices ranging from $200,000 to $32 million at auction.
The painting will be displayed alongside other Impressionist works at the Van Gogh Museum, before returning to Bremen with updated information about its wartime history. The book will be distributed in the Netherlands, the United States, and Britain.