In a significant development announced by Argentine authorities on Wednesday, a painting that had been stolen by the Nazis during World War II has been recovered. The piece, titled “Portrait of a Lady,” is an 18th-century work by Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi, dating back to 1710 and appraised at approximately $50,000. Art expert Ariel Bassano described the painting’s condition as “good, considering its age,” noting that it was kept in a “special chamber” for preservation. Before its theft, the artwork was part of the extensive collection of Dutch-Jewish art collector Jacques Goudstikker, who perished in a shipwreck while fleeing Amsterdam in 1940. After Goudstikker’s death, his collection was plundered by the Nazis, with much of it auctioned off to figures like Hermann Göring. The painting went missing at the end of World War II in 1945.
The painting resurfaced in Argentina last month when it was noticed in an online real estate listing in Mar del Plata by Dutch journalists investigating the history of Nazi lawyer Friedrich Kadgien. Responsible for managing confiscated Jewish property in the Third Reich and a key advisor to Göring, Kadgien lived in Argentina from 1949 until his death in 1978. The listing, which featured the painting, was unwittingly uploaded by one of Kadgien’s daughters and quickly removed after it was published in the Dutch newspaper “Algemeen Dagblad.”
Following this discovery, police searched the homes of Kadgien’s daughters in Mar del Plata, seizing several paintings and engravings suspected to have been stolen in the 1940s. Patricia Kadgien and her husband, who handed over the painting on Wednesday, have been placed under house arrest on charges of concealment and obstruction of justice. The investigation into the painting’s recovery was spurred by the efforts of local community members, particularly journalists. Argentine federal prosecutor Daniel Adler highlighted the significance of the community’s role in the discovery, emphasizing the importance of making the recovered artwork accessible to the public.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/argentina-nazi-looted-italian-painting-recovered/a-73873141?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
