Rothschild To Sell Two Rembrandts
Quelle horreur! Rembrandt’s portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit were acquired in 1877 by Baron Gustave de Rothschild. Eric de Rothschild, a French citizen, is putting them on the market, and the French government has granted an export license – making some art lovers in the country furious at both of them. The works have rarely been exhibited in public and Eric de Rothschild has put a price tag of $223 million on them. Despite being part of a private collection, purists are harshly criticizing both the Ministry of Culture and the Louvre for failing to declare the portraits as National Heritage — a move that would effectively delay the sale of the paintings, which would thus be prevented from exiting France for at least 30 months.
