France and The Netherlands have jointly acquired a pair of portraits by Rembrandt, the countries’ ministers of culture, Fleur Pellerin and Jet Bussemaker respectively, announced today (30 September). The wedding portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit, painted in 1634, will be shown together, splitting their time between the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Louvre in Paris.
The Rijksmuseum is “extremely pleased that both fantastic portraits by Rembrandt have now been secured for public collections and will forever remain together,” according to a statement.
Éric de Rothschild, the paintings’ owner, approached the Louvre in 2013 before he applied for an export licence. Rothschild has now agreed to the joint acquisition, according to the French ministry.
The announcement comes after the Dutch culture ministry said on 21 September it would split the total €160m price tag with the Rijksmuseum to secure the paintings for The Netherlands. Three days later, Pellerin responded with the news that the French state would raise €80m, with the help of the Bank of France, to buy one of the portraits in a bid to share ownership with The Netherlands.