France, Netherlands ink historic deal for €160 mln Rembrandt paintingsFebruary 2, 2016 - 18:36 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - France and the Netherlands signed a historic deal Monday, February 1 acquiring two large Rembrandt portraits for 160 million euros ($174 million), the French culture ministry announced, according to AFP. The agreement, signed by French culture minister Fleur Pellerin and her Dutch counterpart Jet Bussemaker seals the multi-million dollar deal agreed upon in September for two of the Dutch master's works. The acquisition -- costing the Louvre 80 million euros -- is the largest ever made by a French museum. The portraits, dating from 1634, are of prominent Dutchman Marten Soolmans and his future wife Oopjen Coppit, both wearing black with white lace on the eve of their marriage. The ministry said in a statement that the two works will be unveiled at the Louvre "in the coming weeks" before being shipped off to the Netherlands for restoration. The works will then be shared between the Paris museum and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam which both house some of the largest public art collections in the world. France and the Netherlands acquired the paintings from the French branch of the Rothschild family, one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the world. Over the past 150 years the public was only able to catch a glimpse of the valuable portraits during an exhibition organised in 1956. The deal was reached after a series of twists and turns after the Louvre turned down the Rothschild's initial price in 2013. Photo: AFP Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |