Painting allegedly looted by Nazis during WWII spotted in real estate listing
An 18th-century portrait may have been found after 80 years
- Argentine authorities are intensifying their search for an 18th-century Italian portrait, 'Portrait of a Lady', believed to have been looted 80 years ago from a Jewish collector by a fugitive Nazi officer.
- The painting, by Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi, was recently identified by a Dutch newspaper in a real estate advertisement for a chalet in Mar del Plata, Argentina, thought to be owned by descendants of the Nazi officer, Friedrich Kadgien.
- A police raid on the villa yielded potentially relevant German documents from the 1940s, but the painting was not found, with investigators noting signs it had been recently removed from the wall.
- The investigation reopens a dark chapter in Argentina's history, which sheltered numerous Nazis after World War II, many of whom brought plundered Jewish property with them.
- Marei von Saher, the sole surviving heir of the original Jewish art dealer, Jacques Goudstikker, is exploring all possibilities to recover the artwork, highlighting the ongoing process of restitution for looted heritage.