Two 15th-century paintings confiscated by the Nazi occupiers in WWII will be returned to their original owners, following a decision by Education and Culture Minister Ronald Plasterk. The works are currently on long-term loan to Maastricht's Bonnefanten Museum as part of the national collection. They are anonymous Florentine paintings, known as Portrait of a Woman and Portrait of a Man.

In a press release the ministry says that its Restitution Committee, which deals with this type of issue, has decided that the paintings are the property of the heirs of art collector Leo Nardus. The collection he built in the early 20th century was managed by Haarlem curator Arnold van Buuren, who was killed in Sobibor concentration camp in 1943. Mr Nardus' daughter traced the whereabouts of his art items. The paintings were handed back to the Dutch authorities after the end of WWII.