On Thursday, 6 July, director of the Hermitage Amsterdam, Cathelijne Broers, and KLM President & CEO, Pieter Elbers, signed a sponsorship agreement for an exhibition of Dutch masters at the Hermitage. As the “Dutch Master of the Air” KLM will be responsible for transporting the paintings from the Hermitage in St Petersburg to Amsterdam. A large number of the paintings, including Rembrandt’s “Young woman with earrings”, are returning to the Netherlands for the first time since they were sold more than three centuries ago.
The famous Dutch Masters of the Golden Age from the Hermitage were mostly shipped by sea to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, when they were first bought centuries ago. Now they are returning to the Netherlands by air. That we are able to do this in partnership with KLM makes me exceedingly proud.
It is a great honour for KLM to transport these wonderful works of art, including Rembrandt’s ‘Young woman with earrings’, back to the Netherlands after more than 300 years. The transportation of these extraordinary works from the Hermitage Collection will be carried out with the greatest possible care by our specialised staff at KLM Cargo. People will come to Amsterdam from all over the world to see this exhibition.
