Argentine prosecutors have brought charges against the daughter of a Nazi officer, who had been a fugitive, for allegedly attempting to conceal an 18th-century Italian painting. The artwork was looted during World War II and had not been publicly displayed for 80 years.
These charges were filed a day after Patricia Kadgien, 59, daughter of Friedrich Kadgien, surrendered “Portrait of a Lady” to authorities. Friedrich Kadgien is accused of stealing the painting from a leading European art dealer during World War II. The Associated Press, citing an art expert, reported that the painting by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi is likely from around 1710 and is valued at approximately $50,000.
The heir of the painting’s original owner, Dutch-Jewish art collector Jacques Goudstikker, who died in a shipwreck while fleeing during the war, has reportedly initiated legal action to recover the artwork. According to the Associated Press, Goudstikker’s descendants have been endeavoring to locate around 1,100 paintings that went missing after he was forced to sell his extensive art collection to Hermann Göring, Adolf Hitler’s chief aide.
During an investigation into Friedrich Kadgien’s time in Argentina, the painting was discovered in an online real estate advertisement, where it was visible hanging in Patricia Kadgien’s living room. The Associated Press reported that the listing was removed shortly after a story about the discovery was published last week in the Dutch news outlet Algemeen Dagblad.
Police promptly conducted raids on Patricia Kadgien’s home in Mar del Plata, along with other properties linked to her and her sister Alicia. While the painting was not found, authorities seized a rifle, a revolver, and other engravings also believed to have been stolen during World War II, as per the Associated Press.
Following the raids, Patricia Kadgien and her 62-year-old husband, Juan Carlos Cortegoso, were placed under house arrest. The couple handed the portrait over to authorities on Wednesday. After a hearing on Thursday, they were released from house arrest but are prohibited from leaving the country and must inform the court of any departures from their residence, AP stated.
The AP reported that the painting’s next destination and the exact circumstances of how it came into the possession of Friedrich Kadgien, who died in Argentina in 1978 after escaping the war, remain unclear.
Federal prosecutor Daniel Adler stated during a press conference about the artwork, “We’re doing this simply so that the community to whom we partly owe the discovery of the work … can see these images.”
Earlier in the week, Carlos Murias, the defendants’ lawyer, requested a civil court to authorize the auction of the painting, but this request was denied, according to AP.
The AP, citing Prosecutor Carlos Martínez, reported that Marei von Saher, Goudstikker’s heir, allegedly filed a legal claim for the painting through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office in New York.
The FBI did not provide an immediate response to Digital’s request for comment.