Rembrandt paintings were dead cheap in the ’30 of the previous century, as noted by J. Paul Getty in his diary in 1976. The oversupply of Dutch masters, due to the uprising and fear for the Nazis and the threat of war had completely blown a hole in the otherwise stable market prices.

Recently the Paul Getty Trust published the complete series of diaries. That Getty was charmed, to say the least, of Dutch Master Paintings, is no news. Het wrote in 1938 “Dutch painting of the 17th century is tops”, after having visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In the 29 diaries Getty writes daily occurrence worth mentioning and his thoughts. He jotted down why he bought certain pieces and the prices he paid for it.

In 1938 Getty travelled extensively through Europe with visits to Versailles, London, Vienna, Berlin and The Netherlands.

In that same year he bought at auction in Amsterdam the portrait of the grain merchant Marten Looten (1632) by Rembrandt van Rijn, for the lowest estimated auction value of US$ 65.000 (2011 = US$  1,000,000) This painting was later on his life donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
On the first of October he visits the gallery of Goudstikker in Amsterdam. He notes down that Goudstikker had a few friendly priced masterpieces, amongst which two Bouchers for fl. 180,000 (2011 = € 3,376,495.95), a miniature of Saskia by Rembrandt for fl. 42,000 (2011 = € 787,849.05) and a Frans Hals for fl. 90,000 (2011 = € 1,688,247.97). The next day he was invited for lunch at the Goudstikker residence. Getty was not very impressed with the furnishing of the house, apart from the Ruisdael paintings on the wall.

Having said his goodbyes, he left for the Rijksmuseum were he strolled through for 30 minutes of which most of the time in front of Rembrandts masterpiece The Night Watch. He noted down in his diary an estimated value of US$ 4,000,000 (2011 = US$ 623,000,000). A few days later he entered, so he felt, the most holy of all places, the Rembrandthuis. It were the original shutters Rembrandt must have opened en closed to arrange streams of light that impressed him to record it as a kind of holy grail.

After the Mauristhuis in the Hague, he left for Rotterdam. The old masters in Booijmans had is approval, especially the ‘young Rembrandt’, which probably refers to the portrait of Rembrandts son Titus. The impressionists on display were however not very much to his liking.

Later on in his life Getty regretted to only have bought one impressionist in the ’30 instead of a dozen or so Monets, Pissaro’s, Degas’ and Manets. At the time his aesthetic  preferences overruled his business instinct. The tapestries and carpets he bought at the time gave him so much pleasure, even though their value did not increase twentyfold as with the impressionists.

Curios what Getty the philanthropist furthermore wrote down in his diaries ? The diaries can be viewed on-line and the J. Paul Getty Trust is seeking assistance in deciphering the sometimes difficult to read diaries.

Source : NRC Handelsblad