It has been the most important icon for Beverwijk for hundreds of years: the Wijkertoren. He was captured on canvas almost 400 years ago by artist Salomon van Ruysdael, in the impressive painting ‘View of Beverwijk’. When it was announced at the beginning of this year that the artwork in New York would be auctioned for around half a million euros, the Beverwijk appraiser Jeroen Zoetmulder was determined: “This painting must come to the Netherlands.” In the documentary ‘Missie Van Ruysdael’, Zoetmulder is followed from Beverwijk to New York in his attempts to collect enough money within eight weeks.
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In the documentary, which can be viewed here and can also be seen on NH Nieuws today at 5.10 p.m. on NH Nieuws, journalist Lex Boon and filmmaker Robbert Bianchi follow Zoetmulder’s far-reaching attempt to raise funds and enter the auction of Christie’s auction house in New York. bid on the artwork.
The Beverwijk resident Zoetmulder knows Van Ruysdael’s oeuvre well. As a result, the appraiser knows what amounts have been paid previously for works by the painter and that half a million euros for ‘View of Beverwijk’ seems to be estimated very high by the auction house. He is hopeful that he will be able to get the painting to Museum Kennemerland.
Text continues below the documentary.
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video-caption">Mission Van Ruysdael – NH News
Nevertheless, Zoetmulder’s attempt to raise enough money within two months for the painting from 1646 initially seems hopeless. No one is willing to pull the wallet. Zoetmulder: “When Van Ruysdael painted the cityscape, Beverwijk was the Wassenaar of the seventeenth century. But with the arrival of the steel industry, around 1900, Beverwijk became a working-class city. The cultural awareness that once existed here disappeared. To Heemskerk, Castricum and the other side of the channel.”
However, he remains determined: “It is a challenge, but it must be possible. This painting must come to the Netherlands,” says the Beverwijk appraiser in the documentary.
Then an investor registers. That gives Zoetmulder the last push: he decides to board a plane to New York to bid on Van Ruysdael’s painting. The film was made with the support of the Special Journalistic Projects Fund.
Text continues below the detailed close-up images of the painting.
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Total View of Beverwijk by Salomon van Ruysdael
CU view of Beverwijk by Salomon an Ruysdael
CU view of Beverwijk by Salomon an Ruysdael
CU view of Beverwijk by Salomon an Ruysdael
CU view of Beverwijk by Salomon an Ruysdael
CU view of Beverwijk by Salomon an Ruysdael
CU view of Beverwijk by Salomon an Ruysdael
CU view of Beverwijk by Salomon an Ruysdael
CU view of Beverwijk by Salomon an Ruysdael
CU view of Beverwijk by Salomon an Ruysdael
CU view of Beverwijk by Salomon an Ruysdael
‘View of Beverwijk’ by Salomon van Ruydael
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Robbed from a Hungarian banker’s vault
The history of View of Beverwijk is also remarkable: it was painted in 1646, during the best period of Salomon van Ruysdael’s career. It is quite exceptional that this painting comes on the market: since 1982 it has been part of the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Last year, it was discovered that the painting had been stolen from a vault belonging to Hungarian banker Ferenc Chorin during World War II. “A small sticker on the back with a Hungarian text was proof that it really was the stolen work,” says his granddaughter Daisy von Einsiedel in the film. The family got the painting back from the Boston museum, but because a painting is difficult to share between multiple relatives, they decided to sell it through an auction.
tattoo
For Beverwijk it offers an opportunity to safeguard important cultural heritage, because the more than seventy meters high Wijkertoren is still popular in the city. Once the tower was a beacon for skippers on the Wijkermeer, now it reminds the Beverwijker on the A9 that he is almost home. There are even residents who have a tattoo of the tower (see photo).
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