Vermeer Claimed By Jewish Family
Vermeer’s 1665 work “The Art of Painting,” one of the most famous canvases in Western culture, has been the property of Austria since the Second World War. But the Czernin family, which owned the work before then, is seeking to reclaim it, claiming that their paterfamilias, Jaromir Czernin, was forced to sell it because his wife was Jewish. The family’s attempts to reclaim after the war failed; the Czernins hope that the Austrian state will reconsider. The work’s value? Around $50 million.
