Heirs seek return of Rembrandt paintings from top Dutch museum

The heirs of a prolific Dutch art collector are demanding that one of the country's top museums return 25 paintings, including eight works by Rembrandt, because they are not on permanent display.

The heirs to the collection have served a legal summons on the Mauritshuis in The Hague to hand the paintings back, lawyer Gert-Jan van den Bergh told AFP on Friday.

Collector Abraham Bredius, a former Mauritshuis director, bequeathed the 25 paintings to the museum when he died in 1946, on the strict condition they would always be displayed to the public.

"The conditions were not met. Therefore the heirs are now demanding that the museum give the paintings back," said the lawyer.

Four works by 17th-century master Rembrandt -- including "Saul and David", painted between 1651 and 1658, and "Two African Men" from 1661 -- are currently hanging at the museum.

A fifth painting by landscape master Salomon van Ruysdael can also be viewed but the 20 other works from the collection are not on public view, the Mauritshuis confirmed.

These included works by other Golden Age artists including Jan Steen, Jan van Goyen and Paulus Moreelse.

Van den Bergh said the case filed before The Hague District Court was not on behalf of Bredius, who himself had no children.

The lawsuit has been brought by the grandnephew and grandniece of Joseph Kronig, an art critic who was named Bredius's sole heir.

Kronig was about 30 years younger than Bredius, who often referred to him as a "protege" and sometimes a "stepson", according to the New York Times.

Several art historians have suggested Kronig and Bredius were lovers but Kronig's grandnephew Otto told the New York Times there was no evidence for this.

The Mauritshuis said it could not comment on the case.

"As long as the case is being researched -- and this may take a long time -- we are unable to make any announcements," spokesman Rene Timmermans told AFP in an email.

Situated near the historic Dutch parliament buildings in The Hague, the Mauritshuis boasts a world-famous collection, including Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring".