Painting found after 80 years of research, then lost again
Peter Schouten found the "Portrait of a Lady" in Kadgien's daughter’s house. But when they went to collect it, it had disappeared.
Cyril Rosman, Peter Schouten and other journalists from the Dutch journal Algemeen Dagblad have been looking for art pieces stolen by former nazi Friedrich Kadgien for 80 years.
The Argentinan police is currently looking for the painting and the Argentinan prosecutor is pretty confident they are going to find the it soon.
A picture from 1946, including the name of the painter, the age of the painting allowed the journalists to identify the painting.
Recently, Peter Schouten went to Kadgien’s daughter’s house to try and speak with her.
He didn’t get any answer but he noticed that the house was being sold.
So he sent the real estate post to his team in the Netherlands. That’s how they noticed the painting hanging in the living room.
If the family started by ignoring them, they were pretty chocked when they saw the journalists had proof that it was in the house.
Asked about what he thinks happened to the picture, Cyril Rosman responded :
“I think the family first tried to ignore us but was shocked when we send them the evidence that we knew it was in their house and then hid the painting somewhere else.”
Patricia Kadgien, the former nazi’s daughter, hasn’t made any public déclarations.
There is no proof yet that her and her husband hid the picture. But if anything shows they are implied, they could face severe charges. Since the painting was stolen during the WWII genocide, the crimes are imprescriptible.
Friedrich Kadgien stole several art pieces from the Jewish collector Goudstikker, including the “painting of a Lady” by Ghislandi. He then to South America after the war, where we lost trace of the art pieces.
