The Mauritshuis in The Hague will restitute Fishermen by the Lakeshore (1651) by Jan van Goyen to the heirs of the Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. Recent provenance research by the museum established that the painting belonged to Goudstikker’s collection before it was transferred to Germany under Nazi occupation.

Goudstikker (1897–1940) was one of the most prominent art dealers in the Netherlands. Following the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, his art dealership and its inventory of more than 1,100 works were taken over without the consent of his widow, Desirée Goudstikker. A number of works from the collection were subsequently transported to Germany and entered the collection of Hermann Göring. Goudstikker himself died while fleeing the Netherlands by ship to England in May 1940.

The Mauritshuis acquired Van Goyen’s painting in 1967. It had not been identified in earlier restitution proceedings concerning the Goudstikker collection. Following the new provenance research, The Dutch Restitutions Committee concluded that the loss of possession was involuntary, as Goudstikker’s widow, who was the principal shareholder in the dealership, had not consented to the transactions through which the artworks were transferred. The committee also noted that artworks had already been transported to Germany before formal purchase agreements were signed.

The Restitutions Committee advised the Minister of Education, Culture and Science to restitute the painting, and the minister subsequently decided to return it to Goudstikker’s heirs. The painting will be restituted to Marei von Saher, widow of Goudstikker’s only son, Eduard.