On Tuesday, the German restitution committee ruled that the Bayerische Landesbank must return the painting Das bunte Leben (1907) by Wassily Kandinsky to the heirs of the Lewenstein family. The family from Amsterdam owned the painting before the Nazis took it in the Second World War, Parool reports.
This article reviews the most common issues in art disputes in Netherlands, including with regard to title in art, cultural property, limitation periods and alternative dispute resolution.
Dutch Court Rules Against Jewish Heirs on Claim for Kandinsky Work
A recent finding of fault with a Restitution Commissions panel had led the heirs to hope that the court might find for them and return the painting.
This Wassily Kandinsky work, “Painting with Houses” (1909) has been the focus of a battle that was seen as a litmus test for Dutch restitutions policy.Credit.via Mondex Corporation
By Nina Siegal
Published Dec. 16, 2020Updated Dec. 23, 2020
AMSTERDAM In a decision watched closely by restitution experts, a court in Amsterdam ruled on Wednesday that the Stedelijk Museum there can retain a Wassily Kandinsky painting that it acquired during World War II and which came from a Jewish collection.