Van Gogh painting stolen in 2020 was damaged during museum heist, restorers say
The Vincent van Gogh painting stolen from the Singer Laren museum in 2020 was damaged during the theft, but nut irreparably, said art restorer Marjan de Visser. The painting was recovered last year when a man delivered it to art detective Arthur Brand one evening. It was shown to reporters during a media event a the Boijmans van Beuningen Depot in Rotterdam on Wednesday, where it will remain for several months.
The painting, known in Dutch as De Lentetuin and in English as The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring, will be further studied to determine the necessary repairs and restorations following the theft. De Visser said the top left corner likely broke when it was bumped against something,
Since the theft, the painting developed several deep scratches that broke through all layers of paint. One scratch cut all the way to the canvas. At other points, varnish was damaged. The experts who studied the painting said they believe all of the damage can be repaired.
"It's not too bad for us," said Andreas Blühm from the Groninger Museum. The painting is expected to be put on display at his museum from March 29, four years after it was stolen off the Singer Laren museum wall during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. Until then, fans of the artwork can view it later this month while it undergoes restoration at the Boijmans van Beuningen Depot.
The 1884 painting was on loan from the Groninger Museum to the Singer Laren when it was stolen in a smash-and-grab on March 30, 2020. During the first coronavirus lockdown, a man entered the Singer at night, smashed the glass doors with a sledgehammer, and walked out with the multi-million euro work tucked under his arm.
In April 2021, the authorities matched DNA traces found after the theft to French-born career criminal Nils M. He was sentenced to eight years in prison for the robbery of The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring and another painting stolen from a museum in Leerdam in September 2020.
The Van Gogh painting was recovered in September 2023. Blühm said he was delighted to get the work back. “I immediately saw that the work was real. It is slightly damaged but repairable,” he said at the time.
This is not the only painting from Van Gogh’s time in Nuenen to make the news this week. The painting Tête de paysanne à la coiffe blanche, known in English as Head of an old farmer’s wife with a white hat, will be on sale at the Tefaf art fair in Maastricht next month.
