MASTERPIECE

We have Antoine De Jaeger, former chairman of the Friends of Musea Brugge, to thank for the fact that this masterpiece by René Magritte hangs in the Groeninge Museum. A few weeks after the artist’s death, De Jaeger contacted Mrs Renée Lachowsky. She had several of Magritte’s paintings, including L’attentat. After robust price negotiations aimed at the Friends of Musea Brugge purchasing the painting, a sum of one million Belgian francs (about €25,000) was agreed upon. L’attentat was loaned by the Friends to the City of Bruges to be exhibited in the Groeninge Museum. Because it was still a serious financial commitment, a subsidy was applied for from the ministry. On 6 July 1970, chairman De Jaeger received confirmation from the Minister of Culture, Frans Van Mechelen, that a grant of 640,000 Belgian francs (about €15,800) had been awarded for the purchase of this painting. This important acquisition immediately raised the Groeninge Museum’s modern art collection to a very high level.