Dutch and French to jointly buy rare Rembrandts

The Dutch and French governments announced that they are joining forces to buy a pair of wedding portraits by Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn. The countries said they intended shuttle them between Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum and the Louvre in Paris.

Until now, the 17th-century paintings reportedly belonged to the wealthy French Rothschild banking family and had rarely been seen in public.

"We believe these two rare portraits should always be allowed to be admired together, alternately between the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre, so they are accessible to the broader public, both young and old," the Dutch Minister for Culture Jet Bussemaker said.

Shared interest, shared costs

Bussemaker added that the deal was cemented by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and French President Francois Hollande at the United Nations this week.

Wrangling over the two full-length portraits of a young couple painted by the Dutch master around their wedding in 1634 had threatened to sour relations between the two European allies.

After "intensive" discussions, the Dutch cabinet decided to agree with France to share the costs of 160 million euros ($179 million) "given our combined interests", Bussemaker explained.

Mutually beneficial agreement

Rijksmuseum director Wim Pijbes told Dutch radio that the deal would have been unthinkable a few months ago.

"But now two beautiful portraits will be together in the public domain, in two museums of world fame," he said.

Pijbes said it was a new concept "in the museum world for two countries to work together to obtain works from a private collection."

Louvre president Jean-Luc Martinez called the agreement an "innovative solution" with a "happy outcome that will allow the two masterpieces be seen in public in two major European museums."

Details of the agreement - including insurance and responsibility for restoration - still needed to be worked out.

ss/bw (AFP, AP, dpa)