15-03-2019 - After 84 years, an early 18th-century series of six murals returns to Kasteel het Nijenhuis in Heino/Wijhe. The huge canvases depict the myth of Dido and Aeneas by brothers Augustine and Mattheus Terwesten. By Mattheus, an important artist in his time, no murals were left in the Netherlands.
With support from the Rembrandt Association and the BankGiro Lottery, Museum de Fundatie was able to purchase the series. From 24 February 2018, the first restored canvas will be shown together with a non-restored work at Kasteel het Nijenhuis. The remaining works will be restored in the coming months and gradually displayed in the castle after restoration.
Until 2016, the Terwest series hung in a country house in Kent. The private owner wanted it to be auctioned at Christie's in London. The auction house contacted Museum de Fundatie because on the back of some of the works is written: 'TERWESTEN conserved by C.B. van Bohemen 1935 The Hague Holland Afkomstig Kasteel Neijenhuis (Overijsel)'.
The six 'wallpapers', as they are also called, hung in Kasteel het Nijenhuis until 1934. They appear on The preliminary list of Dutch monuments in 1923, stating that they were 'transferred from a house in The Hague'. When the castle's estate is auctioned in 1934, the series is described as 'Room painting by Aug. Terwesten, consisting of 6 panels with scenes from the history of Aeneas and Dido'. So the works were not made specifically for the castle. It was quite common at the time to transfer such paintings, after they had hung somewhere for a certain period, to another interior.
Based on signatures and stylistic features, it has been established that the works were painted by Matthew Terwesten (1670-1757) and his older brother Augustinus Terwesten (1649-1711). This is the return of a special ensemble, as no more murals by Mattheus Terwesten were present in the Netherlands.
