Mauritshuis in The Hague to return Van Goyen painting to Goudstikker heirs
The Mauritshuis in The Hague will return Fishermen by the Lakeshore, a 1651 painting by Dutch artist Jan van Goyen, to the heirs of Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. The museum’s decision closes a long claim over a work lost as a result of Nazi persecution. ArtDependence
The return was first reported this week by ARTnews, which said the Mauritshuis had agreed to hand back the Nazi-looted painting to the dealer’s heirs. ARTnews The announcement follows years of provenance research, the documented chain of ownership that museums use to check how a work changed hands during the Second World War.
The formal step came from the Dutch Restitutions Committee, the national body that advises on Nazi-looted art in the Netherlands. It advised the Minister to restitute the Van Goyen to the Goudstikker heirs, using restitution in its strict sense of the formal return of a work taken under force or duress. Dutch Restitutions Committee
That advice was issued on 30 June 2026. It is recorded as report RC 1.207 under the name Goudstikker III, a case that concerns a work held in the Dutch National Art Collection.
The heir in the case is Marei von Saher, the daughter-in-law and sole heir of Jacques Goudstikker. Her position as claimant has been recognised in earlier proceedings in the Netherlands and abroad. The Guardian
The committee has handled claims for art lost in the Netherlands since 2001. This is not its first finding for the family. It previously recommended restitution in the Goudstikker I and Goudstikker-Kummerlé cases.
What makes this stand out is the paper trail. A small panel from 1651 carries labels, inventory numbers and state records. In The Hague, those records decided where it belongs next.
