Who bequeathed 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' to the Mauritshuis?

Arnoldus Andries des Tombe bequeathed 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' to the Mauritshuis. The Dutch army officer and art collector purchased the painting at an auction in The Hague in 1881, following advice from Victor de Stuers.

Des Tombe paid only two guilders and a small buyer’s premium for the work, which was then in poor condition and not yet recognized as one of Vermeer’s masterpieces. The painting had been attributed to Vermeer, but the artist’s reputation and catalogue of known works were far less established than they are today.

Des Tombe had no heirs. In 1902, he left the painting and other works from his collection to the Mauritshuis, the museum in The Hague. This bequest placed the painting in the institution with which it is now most closely associated.

A common mix-up is to credit Victor de Stuers: he advised Des Tombe and helped protect Vermeer paintings from being sold abroad, but he was not the donor. Abraham Bredius later championed the painting, while Pieter van Ruijven was Vermeer’s patron, not its bequeather.