French painter Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin 's Strawberry Basket (1761) was snapped up last week by New York art dealer Adam Williams for €24.4 million . Museum the Louvre is now putting a stop to that.Text: Patrick StofferThe still life was auctioned last week by the French auction house Artcurial, where Williams was fortunate to have the red fruit on canvas. With €24.4 million under the hammer, the still life would be a record price for Chardin. Williams could not enjoy his purchase for long, however, when it turned out that the Louvre also saw the painting hanging in the glass pyramid. And let this one have French law on the team.
The Louvre did not have enough money to buy the painting during the safe, but did have the means to block its sale. This is all due to the fact that the painting can be declared a national treasure, thanks to French law.
Once an object is declared a national treasure in France, the State can block the sale of a piece for 2.5 years. By the way, this is not the first time a similar situation has occurred. Our own Rembrandt van Rijn also had to deal with it. When the Ensign (1936) entered the market, the trick was also pulled. The masterpiece was declared a national treasure in France in 2019 after the de Rothschild banking family wanted to get rid of the painting. However, France failed to get the financing and it was finally bought by the Dutch State, the Rijksmuseum and the Rembrandt Association in 2021 for €175 million.
In Europe, recognizing a work as a national treasure is often used to prevent the sale and export of important pieces. Whoever has some money to spare ... The Louvre does not yet have the financial resources to buy the piece, so is busy looking for lenders.
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