Painting looted by Nazi from Amsterdam not found during raid of Argentine home
The police in Argentina raided a home believed to contain a painting from the Goudstikker collection looted by Nazis in the Second World War, but did not find the painting, NOS reports.
AD journalists spotted the oil painting, “Portrait of a Lady” by Giuseppe Vittore, in a photo of the home’s listing on a realtor’s site this week after it had been missing for nearly 80 years. The 17th-century work was in the collection of Jacques Goudstikker during the war and ended up in the possession of Nazi official Friedrich Kadgien. It is assumed that the work remained in the family after his death and ended up with one of his daughters.
AD had been unsuccessfully trying to contact the daughters for some time. When one of their homes in the coastal city of Mar del Plata was listed for sale, the newspaper perused the photos and found the painting hanging above the couch. This also made headlines in Argentina, as the painting has been on an international wanted list for decades.
The Argentine police raided the house on Tuesday, but did not find the painting. Peter Schouten, a correspondent for AD in Argentina, told NOS that the painting must have been moved recently. “We received very recent photographic material from inside the house. So the painting was removed shortly afterward, or after the media reports about it appeared.”
According to Schouten, the police noted color differences where the painting should have been hanging. “There’s now a large rug with roses and some nature scenes hanging there. The police say it looks like something else used to hang there.”
Schouten has tried to contact the resident of the house and finally posed her some questions on Instagram, but got blocked. “She also changed her name on Instagram, removed the photo from the house’s listing, and then took down the entire ad. It was striking that she was present during the raid. As far as I know, she didn’t say anything, but she was there. She wasn’t arrested.”
The Argentinian authorities are taking the case very seriously, Schouten told NOS. “They acted quickly, and the Argentinian justice system isn’t known for that. I also think the international stakes are quite high. That’s why everything is being done to find the painting, but only Ms. Kadgien knows where it is at this time.”
