Italian painting stolen by Nazis turns up in Argentina thanks to Dutch journalist

'Portrait of a Lady' by Giuseppe Ghislandi was missing for 80 years

The painting of Contessa Colleoni by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi at a media conference in Mar del Plata, Argentina. EPA

Argentinian authorities recovered an 18th century painting stolen by Nazis from a Dutch Jewish art collector after it appeared in a property advert, only to suddenly vanish.

Portrait of a Lady by Italian baroque painter Giuseppe Ghislandi was missing for eight decades before being photographed hanging in the home of the daughter of a senior SS officer, who fled to Argentina after the Second World War.

Prosecutors said on Wednesday that the woman's lawyer returned the work after a major hunt for it that caused intrigue around the world.

Showing off the piece, art expert Ariel Bassano said it was “in good condition for its age, as it dates from 1710”.

He was quoted by the local La Capital Mar del Plata newspaper as valuing it at about $50,000.

The painting was recognised last week by the Dutch newspaper AD in photographs of a house for sale. AFP

The painting was recognised last week by the Dutch newspaper AD in photographs of a house for sale in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata.

It was hanging above a green sofa in the living room of Patricia Kadgien, daughter of SS financial guru Friedrich Kadgien, one of several high-ranking Nazis to escape to Argentina after the war.

The painting was among over 1,000 artworks stolen from Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker's collection after the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in 1940.

Its discovery generated a flurry of excitement on both sides of the Atlantic.

But no sooner had it been identified than it disappeared again.

When Argentinian police went to raid the premises after being tipped off about the advert they found no trace of the artwork.

Ms Kadgien and her husband were placed under house arrest on Tuesday after several failed police searches for the portrait.

According to Argentinian daily La Nacion, the couple admitted in a court filing that they owned the artwork and said they believed any lawsuit over its ownership would fall under the statute of limitations.

Their lawyer, Carlos Murias, said that prosecutors were seeking to charge his clients with “concealing smuggling”.

If framed within the context of the genocide of Jews during the Second World War, the crime would not be bound by the statute of limitations.

A knock on the door

The investigation arose from a visit to Ms Kadgien's home by Dutch journalist Peter Schouten, who was investigating her father's past.

“We wanted to talk about her father because there were a lot of news stories about him in the Netherlands about 10 years ago,” Schouten told Argentina's Radio Rivadavia.

Schouten said he knocked on the door of the house and got no response, but noticed a for-sale sign.

After searching online property adverts, he spotted the painting in a photo of the house's interior.

“I freaked out, of course,” Schouten said. “I sent all the information to Holland, where they worked with the official institutions and confirmed that yes, it was that painting, that there was no chance it was a replica.”

He said he immediately contacted Ms Kadgien to get her version of events but received no response and that shortly afterwards, the for-sale listing was removed from the property site.

Mr Goudstikker, a leading dealer of Italian and Dutch 16th and 17th-century masters during the wars, fled the Netherlands days after the Nazi invasion.

He left behind an extensive art collection, which was divided up by top German officials, led by Gestapo founder Hermann Goering.

After the war the Dutch state retrieved about 300 works from the collection, most of which it later returned to Mr Goudstikker's heirs.

But many others remain scattered around the world.