The five paintings that were stolen from the Frans Hals Museum in 2002 and that were found back last weekend by the Noord-Brabant police in a house in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, will be back on display in the museum from 17 until 28 september. Three of the paintings show damage, at least to the frames. Three of the recovered artworks were the property of the City of Haarlem, one of the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage ICN, and one had a private owner.

The five stolen works stem from the 17th century and belong to the so-called “peasant-paintings”. Two of the paintings are by Adriaen van Ostade, one by Jan Steen, one by Cornelis Bega and one by Cornelis Dusart.

Between 1605 and 1635 over 100,000 paintings were produced in Haarlem. Not all of these have survived, and most have left town, but this does say something about the artistic climate in the city. At that time art ownership in the city was 25%, a record high. More art has survived up to today from that period in Haarlem than from any other Dutch city.