MAR DEL PLATA, ARGENTINA — In a remarkable breakthrough for art restitution efforts, an 18th-century oil painting by renowned Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi, better known as Fra Galgario, has been recovered in Argentina—more than eight decades after it was looted by the Nazis during World War II.
Titled "Portrait of a Lady," the painting depicts Countess Colleoni, a member of a prominent Italian noble family. Once part of the prestigious collection of Dutch-Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, the painting disappeared during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in 1940. Its unexpected reappearance in a South American home has reignited global attention to the long battle to reclaim stolen cultural property.
A Chance Discovery in a Real Estate Listing
The trail to the missing artwork broke open in an unlikely place: an online real estate listing for a home in Mar del Plata, a coastal city in Argentina. The listing featured several photos of the property—one of which showed the portrait hanging prominently over a couch in the living room.
The image caught the eye of a group of Dutch investigative journalists, who were researching the postwar life of Friedrich Kadgien, a high-ranking Nazi officer and known art looter. Kadgien fled to Argentina after World War II, one of many Nazis who escaped prosecution by taking refuge in South America.
Recognizing the portrait from records of Goudstikker’s stolen collection, the journalists quickly alerted international authorities. Within hours of their inquiry, the image disappeared from the listing.
A History of Theft, Loss, and Survival
Originally part of Jacques Goudstikker’s extensive private collection—one of the most significant in Europe before the war—“Portrait of a Lady” was among more than 1,000 artworks seized by Nazi officials, including Hermann Göring, after the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands.
Goudstikker, a prominent and well-respected dealer in Old Masters, attempted to flee with his family in 1940. Tragically, he died in a shipwreck while escaping Nazi-occupied territory. His widow and descendants have spent decades tracking down the missing pieces of his legacy.
The painting in question is believed to have been taken by Friedrich Kadgien, then working as a financial advisor to Göring and directly involved in the handling of looted art. Kadgien, like many other Nazi officials, resettled in Argentina following the war, where he lived under an assumed identity.
Operation and Recovery by Argentine Authorities
Acting on the tip from Dutch journalists, Argentine authorities launched a coordinated operation, targeting properties linked to Kadgien 's daughters, including the Mar del Plata home where the painting was last seen. However, by the time law enforcement arrived, the artwork had been removed.
Kadgien 's daughter Patricia Kadgien and her husband were later placed under house arrest. After negotiations, the family’s lawyer voluntarily surrendered the painting to Argentine authorities.
According to an independent art expert, the recovered painting is in remarkably good condition given its age and the years it spent hidden from public view. It is currently being preserved in a climate-controlled chamber while legal ownership is formally confirmed.
A Win for Cultural Restitution and Goudstikker’s Heirs
The recovery of Fra Galgario 's “Portrait of a Lady” marks a significant moment in the ongoing global effort to return stolen cultural artifacts to their rightful owners. For the Goudstikker family, it is another piece of the puzzle in their decades-long mission to recover the hundreds of lost artworks seized during the Holocaust.
“This recovery demonstrates the enduring importance of vigilance, collaboration, and international cooperation in pursuing justice for victims of Nazi art looting,” said one representative from a European restitution committee.
The Goudstikker heirs have successfully reclaimed more than 200 artworks in recent years, but hundreds remain missing—many believed to be hidden in private collections across Europe and South America.
A Portrait Resurfaces, a History Reclaimed
While legal proceedings will continue, and ownership will need to be legally transferred, the symbolic power of the painting’s return is already being felt across the art world.
"Portrait of a Lady", once thought lost to history, now stands as a powerful testament to the resilience of memory, the tenacity of those pursuing justice, and the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage in the face of war and theft.
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