Investigation Details
Argentine authorities are probing the heirs of a deceased Nazi after a painting from the 17th century, previously stolen from a Dutch Jewish art collector, was discovered in a real estate advertisement. The artwork vanished shortly after its identification in the listing.
The piece, believed to be “Portrait of a Lady” by Italian Baroque artist Giuseppe Ghislandi (1655-1743), was recognized by the Dutch newspaper AD when a photo of a house for sale in Mar del Plata, Argentina, surfaced.
Although the painting’s authenticity cannot be confirmed until it is recovered, it is suspected of being stolen during World War II from the collection of Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. Goudstikker met his end while escaping the Netherlands in 1940 amidst the Nazi invasion.
Ownership History
The for-sale posting featured what is believed to be the Ghislandi artwork in the residence of Friedrich Kadgien, a financial adviser to one of Adolf Hitler’s top aides and an avid collector of looted art from Jewish galleries in Nazi-occupied Europe. Kadgien ultimately fled to Argentina, among other Nazi war criminals, before passing away in 1978.
The search for the painting now involves Interpol and Argentine federal police. Following the article’s publication, the painting image was swiftly removed from the property listing. When police inspected the house last week, they discovered a tapestry of a horse hung where the painting had been previously pictured, as reported by the Associated Press (AP).
On Monday, four property searches were conducted at Kadgien’s residence as well as three others connected to the family, but no trace of the artwork was found, according to AP.
Legal Proceedings
Patricia Kadgien, Kadgien’s daughter, and her husband, Juan Carlos Cortegoso, are currently under house arrest as announced by the prosecuting attorney on Tuesday. The couple is expected to face legal charges related to the painting’s disappearance.
Carlos Murias, advocating for Kadgien’s daughter, informed a local Mar del Plata newspaper that they intend to cooperate with law enforcement. However, prosecutors noted that the artwork remains unreturned.
Claims of Inheritance
As reported by Argentina’s La Nacion, the couple asserts their claim as rightful owners as they state they inherited the artwork.
During the searches, investigators seized two additional paintings from another daughter of Kadgien, believed to date from the 1800s. The prosecutor’s office confirmed, “The works will be analyzed to determine if they are linked to paintings stolen during World War II.”
Context of the Stolen Artwork
Goudstikker was known as a prominent dealer of Italian and Dutch art from the 16th and 17th centuries, leaving behind an extensive collection of over 1,000 pieces when he fled. Following the war, high-ranking German officials, including Gestapo founder Hermann Goering, divided Goudstikker’s collection. The Dutch government managed to recover about 300 works post-war, with many returned to Goudstikker’s heirs.
In 2011, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles returned a 17th-century Dutch painting originally from Goudstikker’s collection. However, numerous works from his collection remain unaccounted for worldwide. Goudstikker’s heirs are fervently working to reclaim this particular painting, now cataloged on an international registry of missing artworks.
