An Italian master painting stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish art dealer in Amsterdam has been spotted on the website of an estate agent selling a house in Argentina, more than 80 years after it was taken. A photo shows 'Portrait of a Lady' by Giuseppe Ghislandi hanging above a sofa inside a property near Buenos Aires once owned by a senior Nazi official who moved to South America after the Second World War.
The painting, which features on a database of lost wartime art, was traced after the house was put up for sale by the official's daughter, Dutch newspaper AD reports. The artwork is among hundreds looted from art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, who helped other Jews escape during the war.
Goudstikker died at sea in an accident escaping the Netherlands and is buried in England. Over 1,100 works from Goudstikker's collection were bought up in a forced sale by senior Nazis after his death, including Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring.
Post-war, some of the works were recovered in Germany and displayed in Amsterdam's Rijkmuseum as part of the Dutch national collection. Goudstikker's sole-surviving heir, daughter-in-law Marei von Saher, took possession of 202 pieces in 2006.
But one painting, a portrait of the Contessa Colleoni by late-baroque portraitist Giuseppe Ghislandi, remained missing until now. AD's investigation unearthed wartime documents suggesting it was in the possession of Friedrich Kadgien, an SS officer and financial aide to Göring, who fled to Brazil where he became a businessman.
Attempts to contact Kadgien's daughters about their father's missing artworks have so far been unsuccessful. Lawyers for Goudstikker's estate have expressed intent to reclaim the painting, emphasizing the importance of restoring his family's legacy.
The painting, which features on a database of lost wartime art, was traced after the house was put up for sale by the official's daughter, Dutch newspaper AD reports. The artwork is among hundreds looted from art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, who helped other Jews escape during the war.
Goudstikker died at sea in an accident escaping the Netherlands and is buried in England. Over 1,100 works from Goudstikker's collection were bought up in a forced sale by senior Nazis after his death, including Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring.
Post-war, some of the works were recovered in Germany and displayed in Amsterdam's Rijkmuseum as part of the Dutch national collection. Goudstikker's sole-surviving heir, daughter-in-law Marei von Saher, took possession of 202 pieces in 2006.
But one painting, a portrait of the Contessa Colleoni by late-baroque portraitist Giuseppe Ghislandi, remained missing until now. AD's investigation unearthed wartime documents suggesting it was in the possession of Friedrich Kadgien, an SS officer and financial aide to Göring, who fled to Brazil where he became a businessman.
Attempts to contact Kadgien's daughters about their father's missing artworks have so far been unsuccessful. Lawyers for Goudstikker's estate have expressed intent to reclaim the painting, emphasizing the importance of restoring his family's legacy.
