Researchers are convinced the listing shows the real ‘Portrait of a Lady’ by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi stolen by the Nazi’s in 1940, saying there is ‘no reason to think’ the artwork could be a copy
A painting stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish collector during World War II has resurfaced eight decades later – after appearing in the background of an Argentine real estate listing.
“Portrait of a Lady,” by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi, was spotted hanging above a sofa in the home of the daughter of Friedrich Kadgien, a close aide to Hermann Goering who fled to Argentina after the war. The discovery was made by researchers from the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE). Experts Annelies Kool and Perry Schrier are convinced the listing shows the real thing, saying there is “no reason to think” the artwork could be a copy.
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The 18th-century portrait was among hundreds belonging to Dutch dealer Jacques Goudstikker, a Jewish art collector who helped fellow Jews escape Nazi-occupied Europe before his own death in 1940. At least 800 works were seized by Goering himself, who looted Europe’s collections while serving as Hitler’s Luftwaffe chief and one of the regime’s most powerful men.
Dutch newspaper AD reported that the painting was traced to Kadgien’s family. The work was visible in photos advertising his daughter’s home for sale. When contacted, she claimed to be unaware of the painting, telling AD: “I don’t know what information you want from me, and I don’t know what painting you’re talking about either.”
Researchers say they have also identified another missing piece – a still life by 17th-century Dutch painter Abraham Mignon – on a relative’s social media page. Kadgien, who looted art and jewellery to fund the Nazi war machine, lived out his life in Argentina, where he died in 1979.
Goudstikker’s meticulous black book of stolen works later enabled the Dutch government to recover around 200 of the lost paintings in the early 2000s.
One painting stolen more than 75 years ago is yet to be recovered. Italian Renaissance artist Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Man has been regarded by many historians as the most important painting missing since World War II. The masterpiece was seized by the Nazis in 1939, and despite some clues to its whereabouts the portrait is still no closer to be recovered.