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🇦🇺 Australia /Culture & Society

Argentine court clears return of Nazi-looted portrait worth $400,000

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • An Argentine court approved an agreement to return an 18th-century portrait stolen from Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker during the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands.
  • The painting was discovered in the Mar del Plata home of Patricia Kadgien, whose father served as a financier for the Nazi SS and later fled to Argentina.
  • The work, valued at about $403,500, will go to Goudstikker heir Marei von Saher, while the parties also agreed to give about $3,200 to local hospitals.

For eight decades, an 18th-century portrait stolen from a Dutch Jewish art collector appeared to have vanished. Its trail resurfaced in Argentina, hanging above a green sofa in a house advertised for sale in the seaside city of Mar del Plata.

An Argentine court in Buenos Aires approved an agreement on Friday under which Patricia Kadgien, the daughter of fugitive Nazi official Friedrich Kadgien, would abandon her claim to the painting rather than face trial. Judge Santiago Inchausti declared that an order would be issued to return the work to the heir of art dealer Jacques Goudstikker.

An order will be issued for the painting to be returned to the heir.

· Santiago InchaustiThe judge announced the court’s decision after approving the agreement.

The portrait, painted by Italian Baroque artist Giuseppe Ghislandi, was first recognised in photographs published by a Dutch newspaper. Experts authenticated it as part of the Goudstikker collection and estimated its value at about €250,000, or $403,500. Authorities seized it from the Mar del Plata home last year after investigators were alerted by the real-estate advertisement.

Kadgien’s father had worked as a financier for the Nazi SS and was among senior Nazis who escaped to Argentina after World War II. Kadgien and her husband faced charges of concealment and were placed under house arrest after the painting was identified. They agreed to renounce any rights to the work and pay about $3,200 to local hospitals.

The individuals under investigation essentially committed themselves to renouncing any rights over the painting that is going to be returned.

· Carlos MartinezArgentina’s federal prosecutor described the agreement reached by the people under investigation.

The portrait belonged to a collection of more than 1,000 works stolen after the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. Goudstikker fled days after the invasion, while leading German officials divided up his art. The Dutch state later recovered about 300 works, most of which it returned to his heirs, but others remain scattered around the world.

The painting is currently held by Argentina’s Supreme Court. Von Saher’s legal team must initiate its return, and she intends to exhibit it in Argentina to bring attention to Goudstikker’s story.

The work is in good condition, and expert examinations confirmed its authenticity.

· Carlos MartinezThe prosecutor confirmed the painting’s condition and authentication.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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