Name: Ghent museum under fire for refusing return of Nazi-looted painting
Uploaded: 2025-12-23T15:23:05.995Z
Duration: 2 min 50 s
Description: The heirs of a Jewish art dealer are demanding the return a 17th-century painting that they say was seized in Nazi-occupied Belgium.

The heirs of a Jewish art dealer are demanding the return a 17th-century painting that they say was seized in Nazi-occupied Belgium.

Gent

A museum in Ghent, Belgium, is under criticism for refusing to return a 17th-century painting proven to have been looted during the Nazi occupation. The artwork, originally owned by Jewish art dealer Samuel Hartfeld, was purchased by the city of Ghent after World War II, and Hartfeld's heirs are now seeking its restitution.

Officials in Ghent claim Hartfeld's family was compensated after the war, but no evidence has been provided. The case has drawn attention to Belgium's lack of a national framework for returning Nazi-looted art, with calls for the creation of a restitution commission as the painting remains on display in Ghent.

Ghent museum under fire for refusing return of Nazi-looted painting

The portrait at the center of a major dispute, a battle over its rightful ownership. It's been proven that the artwork was looted during the Nazi occupation of Belgium. This is really a scandal, OK? I never had such a case in the last 20 years in my life. The painting, showing Bishop Antonius Trist, is a 17th century work by famous Flemish artist Gasper de Kruijer. Three years after the end of the Second World War, the city of Ghent purchased it. The heirs of its original owner Samuel Hartfeld now want it back. Officials here in Ghent recently commissioned a report. It says Samuel Hartfeld and his heirs were already compensated in the years following the war. However, the report does not provide any proof of this. They said it is obvious that the painting has been looted and that Samuel Hartfeld never received a penny for it. Samuel Hartfeld was a Jewish art dealer who ran a gallery here in Belgium. In 1914, he fled to the United States to escape Nazi persecution, like many other Jews. Hartfeld was forced to leave behind his library and 66 artworks, including the portrait of Bishop Antonius Trist. This painting was later sold by a man closely linked to the Nazi regime. Hartfeld's descendants have started to seek restitution. Our goal is not financially motivated. Any proceeds that we get from selling these restituted art go directly to charity to support Jewish causes. There was a wrong and it needs to be corrected. During the Second World War, the Nazis and their collaborators confiscated property from Jewish citizens or forced them to sell under persecution. Over 100,000 artworks remain missing to this day. Other European countries have defined standards to return artworks stolen by the Nazis. But Belgium has no such framework. Gert Zels is a journalist who investigates Nazi-looted art in Belgian collections. We're nowhere. I think we're the black sheep of Europe, I think. The Belgian museums have never done a provenance research with their collections. So this should be done in other countries. It has been done already. Belgium is now considering the creation of a national restitution commission. In the meantime, though, this painting remains in the gallery here in Ghent.

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