Paintings were quite often replaced by others that were more in harmony with the tastes of the time. They also ran the risk of being stolen, only to end up being sold abroad. In the be­ginn­ing this was not only considered an inescapable fact but completely normal. It was only after a decree on the 3rd Sept­em­ber 1778 that paintings became a concern of the state (and one can with some justification argue that this date has far more importance than the actual development of the various mu­se­ums that came into being, which first and foremost were converted from ‘pri­va­te’ to ‘public’).