Victor de Stuers

Victor Eugène Louis de Stuers (20 October 1843, Maastricht – 21 March 1916, The Hague) was a Dutch art historian, lawyer, civil servant and politician. Widely regarded as the father of historic preservation in the Netherlands, he played a notable part in keeping Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Vermeer, from being sold abroad. Biography He was the third son of General Hubert Joseph Jean Lambert de Stuers, and his second wife, Hortense Joséphine Constance, Baroness Beyens (1814-1869). In 1861, he began studying law at the University of Leiden; obtaining his doctorate there in 1869. That same year, he was sworn in as a lawyer at the Supreme Court in The Hague. During his time at the University, he had become interested in preserving historical buildings and works of art. In 1873, he published an essay in De Gids, a literary journal, in which he criticized the poor preservation of monuments, government architecture, and museum policy, among other subjects. The following year, a Royal Decree established the "Board of Government Advisors for the Monuments of History and Art", and De Stuers was named Secretary. They provided so many recommendations, the government agencies involved were overwhelmed.