The British government has announced the return of a 17th-century painting, “Aeneas and his Family Fleeing Burning Troy,” looted by the Nazis in 1940 from Jewish art collector Samuel Hartveld in Belgium. The artwork, created in 1654 by English painter Henry Gibbs, was left behind when Hartveld and his wife fled Antwerp to escape Nazi persecution.
After spending three decades in London’s Tate Britain gallery, the painting will be repatriated to Hartveld’s heirs following a review by the Spoliation Advisory Panel. The panel, established in 2000 to address claims of Nazi-era theft, deemed the looting an act of racial persecution and recommended the painting’s return.
The decision highlights the ongoing efforts to address injustices from the Holocaust era. While British law allows for the restitution of Nazi-looted objects, broader repatriation demands for colonial-era artifacts remain a contentious issue. The painting’s return marks a significant victory for Hartveld’s descendants and a step toward justice for victims of Nazi persecution.