In brief
The painting 'Portrait of a Lady' by Giuseppe Ghislandi, which was recently spotted in an Argentine estate ad, has vanished again. Prosecutors are treating the case as a potential cover-up connected to smuggling, after a police raid yielded no painting but seized weapons instead. The painting has a storied past, originally part of a collection looted by the Nazis from Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker.
A painting stolen by the Nazis that was spotted in an Argentinian estate agent's advert has vanished, a prosecutor says following a raid on the home. 'Portrait of a Lady' by Giuseppe Ghislandi was featured hanging above a sofa inside a property near Buenos Aires, which was being sold by the daughter of a senior Nazi who fled Germany after World War Two. A police raid on the house this week however turned up no painting - but two weapons were seized, federal prosecutor Carlos Martínez told local media.Mr. Martínez stated that they were treating it as an alleged cover-up of smuggling, Argentinian daily Clarin reported. The newspaper indicated that the furnishings had been rearranged and the painting was missing from the wall during the raid.Peter Schouten from the Dutch Algemeen Dagblad, which first reported the long-lost artwork's reappearance, noted evidence that the painting was removed shortly after the media's attention drew focus to it. Portrait of a Lady was among the collection of Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, much of which was forcibly sold by the Nazis following his death. Some works were recovered in Germany after the war and displayed as part of the Dutch national collection.For over 80 years, the location of Ghislandi's painting of the Contessa Colleoni had been unknown until recently. Documents highlight its previous possession by Friedrich Kadgien, a senior financial aide in the Nazi regime, who eventually moved to Argentina.As the search continues, lawyers for Goudstikker's estate assert their commitment to reclaim every artwork taken from his collection, aiming to restore his legacy.
