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Flourishing art trade

The great interest of German buyers throughout the Second World War caused tremendous prosperity in the art trade in the Netherlands. Firms that had built up a good reputation before the war sold countless works to German interested parties. Some did so gladly and others were reluctant. New art dealers were popping up everywhere. Sometimes, the new art dealers were more adventurers than professional traders. They sold everything they got their hands on, including pieces that had been looted. The records of some larger art dealers were saved. These show us from whom they purchased their artwork. Almost nothing is known about many of the smaller businesses and not the slightest shred of the records was saved. In such cases, the investigation into the provenance of the pieces they traded almost always ends in a dead end.

The painting of the Rhine landscape near the Drachenfels, close to Königswinter, by the 19th century painter Leendert de Koningh turned up in January 1943. The painting was then sold by the unknown Speetjens art dealership in Rijswijk to another art dealer, who in turn sold it to a German buyer. Speetjens was probably an occasional dealer, who may have acquired his wares in an entirely honest way. But certainly in the case of such a small company, the chance exists that some of its stock had an insidious history.