[ti:Coronavirus Results in Unexpected Gift to Dutch Museum]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]A museum facing financial difficulties because of COVID-19 restrictions
[00:07.20]has received a surprise gift meant to honor people who died of the disease.
[00:16.48]The gift is a 16th century artwork by the Dutch painter Bartholomeus Spranger.
[00:25.24]It is called "Body of Christ Supported by Angels."
[00:32.40]The painting is now part of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum in The Netherlands.
[00:40.60]Taco Dibbits, general director at the museum,
[00:45.28]had long sought to buy the painting to add to its collection.
[00:51.64]But he missed out on getting the work earlier this year
[00:56.32]and thought he might not get another chance.
[01:01.60]Dibbits felt like he was in the perfect position to buy the oil-on-copper painting
[01:08.44]in early March at an art sale in the southern Netherlands.
[01:14.92]"We were standing there with our curators around the painting
[01:20.08]and saying how wonderful it was," he told The Associated Press.
[01:26.32]What the group did not know, however, was that the picture
[01:31.72]had been sold soon after it arrived at the art sale.
[01:37.52]So Dibbits returned to Amsterdam.
[01:42.00]There, he dealt with the museum's financial losses
[01:46.40]resulting from the coronavirus health crisis.
[01:50.56]With visitors no longer permitted, Dibbits said the museum
[01:56.48]was losing about 1 million euros a week.
[02:01.76]The money represents a big part of the museum's operating budget.
[02:08.60]Dibbits said he was caught by surprise when he got a telephone call
[02:14.40]from Bob Haboldt, an international dealer and art collector.
[02:21.20]He owned the painting, and earlier said he had sold it.
[02:27.28]Haboldt, a Dutch citizen, explained that the coronavirus crisis
[02:33.60]had resulted in the sale being canceled.
[02:38.36]The collector, who lives in France and Italy and has offices in Amsterdam,
[02:44.92]Paris, and New York, was unable to travel, just like everyone else.
[02:51.36]"In isolation, I took the step that I would not think about its financial value,"
[02:59.16]he told the AP in a phone interview from Italy.
[03:04.76]"Only its emotional value."
[03:08.88]Haboldt did not want to say how much the painting could sell for.
[03:14.00]"It is a big gift, no matter how you look at it," he said.
[03:20.08]He added that he decided to donate the painting
[03:24.24]"in memory of the victims of COVID-19,
[03:28.68]not only those who died but also those who suffered."
[03:35.08]The collector said he also hoped his act might lead others to support the arts as well.
[03:44.36]Haboldt, who is a native of Amsterdam,
[03:47.88]said he wanted the painting "to go before a very big audience,"
[03:53.92]and the Rijksmuseum seemed like the perfect choice.
[04:00.20]The painting itself could be seen to represent
[04:04.00]both the current times we are experiencing
[04:07.76]and the future the world is looking to.
[04:12.44]In it, a dead Jesus Christ is lifted from the ground by three angels and taken skyward.
[04:22.24]"The picture represents a big message," Haboldt said.
[04:28.24]"I hope people will stop in front of it for a moment
[04:32.84]and realize that although they look at a religious painting,
[04:37.44]they are looking at something timeless, full of compassion, mercy and hope."
[04:46.32]Museums around the world have been struggling during the COVID-19 health crisis.
[04:54.12]The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
[05:01.48]estimates that one out of eight museums might not survive.
[05:08.36]Dibbits said he welcomes Haboldt's act of kindness in the current unsettling environment.
[05:17.36]"That a dealer decides to donate a work
[05:20.80]when he doesn't know where his future is going,
[05:24.20]I think that's something very special," he said.
[05:29.12]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM