The painting The Voorzaan and the Westerhem by Claude Monet, which was pulled from the wall of the Zaans Museum during a failed art theft last year, is back in its place. The artwork now hangs behind thick glass.
A man pulled the curtain from the wall in front of visitors last August and walked outside with it. A co-defendant was waiting for him there. When they tried to flee on a scooter, bystanders stopped them.
The co-defendant shot several times on the ground, close to the feet of a bystander. He nevertheless managed to take the Monet, after which the two ran off. The 49-year-old man who pulled the work off the wall turned himself in to police a month later and was arrested last month four years in prison for the failed robbery.
thick glass
The Zaans Museum bought Monets The Voorzaan and the Westerhem in 2015 for about 1.5 million euros. The French artist made the painting in 1871 when he stayed in Zaandam for a number of months.
To prevent another theft, the painting is firmly attached to the wall and now hangs behind thick glass. “It now hangs in a secured display case. The condition was that you could still get close to the work of art,” says director Marieke Verweij of the Zaans Museum. NH News† “I think it turned out well.”
During the attempt to steal the painting, the frame of the painting was so damaged that it had to be restored first. Head of museum affairs of the museum, Martine Verstraete, can indicate exactly where the piece was damaged. “It’s a plaster and wood frame and that’s fragile,” she says. The casing is important because it is the original frame Monet had made for the painting.
Verstraete thinks it is a shame that the painting is now behind glass. “On the other hand, you can now get very close to it because it is behind glass. So you can actually look closer now.”
A virtue of necessity
The room where the artwork hangs has also been renovated. In addition to the painting, there are many more works that were made in the Zaan region. Verweij says that the artwork has been deliberately shown to the public again since today. Today it is exactly 151 years ago that Monet started his work in Zaandam.
“We have made a virtue of necessity and combine contemporary work with old Monet.” She is therefore very happy that the painting is back in the museum. “This is where he belongs”.
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