Belgium returns painting 'missing' since WWII to Germany
The Belgian House of Representatives has officially handed over a painting by German artist Friedrich Nerly to the Preußischer Kulturbesitz Foundation. The work, which hung in the German embassy in Brussels during the Second World War, ended up in the Belgian parliament. It will now be added to the collection of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
The restitution stems from a discovery by Sophie Wittemans, curator of the parliamentary art collection.
"I regularly walked past the painting and wondered how we came to have a painting of a view of Venice. That's unusual; most of the artworks in the House have Belgian subjects," she said. Her research showed that Basilica SS Giovanni e Paolo in Venice by Friedrich Nerly entered the House between 1954 and 1960, during Camille Huysmans’s presidency.
"The story behind this rediscovery is fantastic. At first, I could hardly believe it"
German researchers later confirmed it was the same work listed as missing since 1945. The painting had last been inventoried in 1934 at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, loaned to the German embassy in Brussels in 1936, and subsequently disappeared.
It reached the Chamber via the Sequesterdienst, an agency that managed looted or confiscated art during and after the war.
Friedrich Nerly (1807–1878) was best known for his Venetian cityscapes. Basilica SS Giovanni e Paolo in Venice is considered one of his most important compositions, depicting the Gothic basilica at the heart of the city.
The official transfer ceremony took place on Tuesday afternoon in parliament, where speaker of the house Peter De Roover and Gero Dimter, vice-chair of the Preußischer Kulturbesitz Foundation, signed the act of restitution. The German ambassador to Belgium, Martin Kotthaus, also attended.
Symbol of solidarity
Dimter welcomed the return. “The story behind this rediscovery is fantastic. At first, I could hardly believe it, because it usually involves works of art plundered or stolen by the Nazis, which we are obligated to return," he said.
"But this story is unique. Art is not only a victim of conflicts, crises, and wars, but can also become a symbol of true solidarity, in this case a symbol of the friendship between the Belgian parliament and our institution.”
Peter De Roover, Martin Kotthaus, Gero Dimter and Anette Hüsch during the ceremony to return a missing painting to Germany, 23 September 2025 ©BELGA VIDEO MAARTEN WEYNANTS.
Although Belgium was under no legal obligation to return the painting, a consensus was quickly reached to hand it back to its original owner, the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
“It is an honour and a pleasure to see it return home,” said De Roover. Following transport to Berlin, inspection and possible restoration, the painting is expected to go on display in the spring.
Close allies
Kotthaus highlighted the wider significance: “Belgium and Germany share a turbulent history, with two invasions and severe war damage, including the deportation of more than 25,000 Jews during the Second World War," he said.
"Yet, today, both countries are close allies in the EU, NATO and the UN, strongly intertwined economically, and connected through the German-speaking community in Belgium. (...) This gesture by the Belgian Chamber is a powerful symbol in the year in which we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.”
Basilica SS Giovanni e Paolo in Venice (1849, oil on canvas, 109 x 173 cm) by Friedrich Nerly (1807–1878).The painting will then be entrusted to the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, its original owner ©BELGA PHOTO SARAH VAN HECKE
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