Painting looted by Nazis rediscovered – in property ad
An unwitting photo in an online real estate listing has led to the recovery of a long-lost 18th century painting looted by the Nazis during World War II.
A long-lost 18th century painting looted by the Nazis in World War II has been recovered by Argentine authorities, a federal court has announced.
Portrait of a Lady by Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi had not been seen publicly in 80 years before the giant gold-framed work was presented in the coastal city of Mar del Plata on Wednesday (local time).
It was rediscovered only by chance when the first colour photo of the portrait surfaced in August in an online real estate listing. It had been unwittingly posted by one of the daughters of Friedrich Kadgien, the fugitive Nazi officer accused of stealing the painting from one of Europe’s most prominent pre-war art dealers and collectors.
“We’re doing this simply so that the community to whom we partly owe the discovery of the work … can see these images,” federal prosecutor Daniel Adler said in a press conference to display the full-length portrait of Countess Colleoni, her hair ink-black and dress embroidered with pastel flowers.
“It was people from the community, specifically journalists, who prompted the investigation,” Adler said.
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Dutch journalists made the shocking discovery while investigating Kadgien’s past in Argentina, where the high-ranking official fled after the collapse of the Third Reich and later died in 1978.
News of the find thrilled historians and eventually reached the heirs of the painting’s original owner, Dutch-Jewish art collector Jacques Goudstikker. He died in a shipwreck after fleeing Amsterdam ahead of advancing German troops in May 1940.
His descendants have sought to recover an estimated 1100 paintings missing since the forced sale of Goudstikker’s extensive inventory to Adolf Hitler’s right-hand man, Hermann Göring, who built up a major art collection during WWII.
An art expert invited to assist with the investigation, Ariel Bassano, said the painting was in good condition given its age. He dated the portrait to 1710 and valued it at roughly $US50,000 ($A77,000).
-with AAP
