Owner: Léon Seyffers — Bruxelles, Belgique
Collection: (LSeyffers) Bruxelles-In the spring of 1944. Léon Seyffers and his family were arrested on June 19, 1944. His belongings including his art collection—personal collection plus residual of his business inventory—were seized “4 or 5 days after his arrest" by the Gestapo. He was later deported from Malines to Auschwitz on July 31, 1944, where he is presumed to have perished. Three paintings were removed from the residence of Gaston Mueller in Brussels. The bulk of his art collection was warehoused at a German-administered site on rue du Transvaal. A number of paintings were recovered at another depot located at 74, rue de Laeken, in Brussels.
Inventory No.: LM 1044/4
A 10564
BA 1200
Artist: A. van Dyck
Medium: Paintings
Title: Portrait d'homme, mi-corps, costume et manteau noir [Hendrik Dubois]
Description: 74 x 105 cm [64 x 105 cm]
Toile transposé de bois
Literature: This painting has been associated with a portrait of Hendrik du Bois in Frankfurt.
Provenance and Comments: Following an anonymous denunciation, the Gestapo of rue de Taciturne removed this painting from the antique shop of Gaston Muller on 14 July 1944. A truck from the Abbeloos company was used to perform the removal.
Archival Sources: AR 2/AGR 2/Depot Joseph Cuvelier-020-505, Bruxelles, Belgique
Measurements: 74 x 105 cm
Intake place: Gaston Muller, avenue de l'Yser, Bruxelles
Transfer place: Gestapo (rue de Taciturne), Bruxelles, Belgique
Transfer date: 1944-07-14
Repatriated to Belgium? Yes
Restituted? Yes
Restitution date: 1948-04-11
Images: