A valuable 18th-century painting stolen by the Nazis from a Jewish collector during World War II has been recovered in Argentina after it was discovered in an online real estate advertisement. The artwork, "Portrait of a Lady" by Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi (1655-1743), was finally returned to authorities following a complex investigation that began when the painting was spotted in photos of a house for sale in Mar del Plata.
Prosecutor Daniel Adler explained to the press that the lawyer representing the heir of SS officer Friedrich Kadgien voluntarily brought forward the 18th-century artwork. Kadgien had settled in South America after World War II and died in 1978. The painting's presence was first noticed by the Dutch newspaper AD, which identified it in real estate listing photos of a house belonging to Kadgien's heirs.
When Argentine authorities conducted their initial search of the property, the painting was no longer in the location where it had been photographed, having been replaced by another artwork. This led to additional investigations and searches of properties connected to the family. Patricia Kadgien, Friedrich Kadgien's daughter, and her husband were placed under house arrest on Tuesday after several raids during which authorities initially failed to locate the painting.
The recovered artwork originally belonged to Dutch collector Jacques Goudstikker, whose assets were seized by the Nazis during their systematic looting of Jewish property. The painting appears on an international list of missing artworks and is registered on the website of the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency, which is dedicated to identifying, tracking, and returning cultural assets stolen by the Nazis. Art expert and professor Ariel Bassano, speaking alongside the recovered painting at the prosecutor's office, stated that "the painting is in good condition considering its age, since it dates from 1710. Its value could be around $50,000."
The case has expanded beyond the single painting, as additional searches of properties belonging to the couple led to further discoveries. Police found 22 prints from the 1940s by French painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954), the master of Fauvism, as well as other paintings whose origins remain to be determined. Patricia Kadgien and her husband were charged with receiving stolen goods on Thursday, September 4th.
The couple's defense attorney, Carlos Murias, argued that the crime for which his clients are being prosecuted has passed the statute of limitations and that the painting is part of their legitimate inheritance. However, under Argentine and international law, crimes related to genocide are not subject to statutes of limitations, which complicates the defense's position.
Friedrich Kadgien had served as a financial advisor to German war criminal Hermann Göring, who amassed a colossal fortune during the Nazi regime, particularly through the systematic looting of Jewish property. Göring was one of the most notorious Nazi leaders involved in the organized theft of art and cultural artifacts from occupied territories and persecuted communities.
Argentina became a refuge for thousands of Nazis who fled across the Atlantic after the war's end. Among the most notorious cases was Adolf Eichmann, the primary architect of the "Final Solution" - the Nazi plan for the systematic extermination of Jews during World War II. Eichmann was captured in Buenos Aires in 1960, then tried and executed in Israel. The country's role as a haven for Nazi war criminals has made it a focal point for ongoing efforts to recover stolen cultural artifacts and pursue justice for wartime crimes.
