A Dutch art detective has found a valuable painting by Vincent van Gogh that was stolen from a museum during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown three and a half years ago, law enforcement authorities confirmed Tuesday.
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“Arthur Brand, in collaboration with the Dutch police, solved this problem,” Richard Bronswijk of the Dutch police’s art crime unit told AFP. “It’s definitely the original, there’s no doubt about it,” he added of the painting.
The detective took possession of the missing 1884 painting “The Nuenen Presbytery Garden in Spring” from his home in Amsterdam on Monday. The work, estimated to be worth between 3 and 6 million euros, was stolen from the Singer Laren Museum on March 30, 2020 in a heist that made headlines around the world.
Mr. Brand, nicknamed the “Indiana Jones of the art world” for tracking down a number of high-profile missing works, said his and Dutch police’s frequent calls for them to be returned finally bore fruit, as a man whose identity is unknown For his own safety, he handed the painting to the detective in a blue IKEA bag wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in a pillowcase. Pillow.
“I couldn’t believe it”
A video clip provided by the detective showed him unpacking the painting in his living room and being stunned by the discovery. “Confirming that it was indeed the stolen Van Gogh was one of the greatest moments of my life,” Mr Brand told AFP. “I couldn’t believe it,” he continued.
Free photo / ARTHUR BRAND / AFP
Video footage released by Dutch police shortly after the break-in showed a burglar smashing a glass door at a museum near Amsterdam in the middle of the night before fleeing with the painting hidden under his right arm.
In April 2021, police arrested a man, identified by Dutch media as Nils M., for the theft. He was later convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison.
Nils M. was also convicted of stealing a masterpiece by Frans Hals entitled “Two Laughing Young Men” in another robbery.
“After a few months, I learned from a source in the criminal world who was the one who bought the Van Gogh,” said Nils M., who became known for his remarkable recoveries of stolen works of art, including bronze statues of “Hitler’s Horses.” , a Picasso painting and a ring that belonged to Oscar Wilde.
The man is currently behind bars for a separate case involving the large-scale import and export of cocaine, the art detective said.
Dutch media identified the man as Peter Roy K., who was sentenced to 12 years in prison as the buyer and wanted to use the painting as security for negotiations to reduce his sentence.
Mr Brand confirmed the identity of Peter Roy K, adding that he had insisted there was “no agreement on a reduction in sentence”.
The whereabouts of the Van Gogh painting were still unknown two weeks ago when the detective was contacted by a man who said he wanted to return it.
After a negotiation, Mr. Brand persuaded the man – who the detective said had “nothing to do with the theft” – to return the artwork, which dates from the beginning of Van Gogh’s career, before the prolific artist began his post-impressionist paintings.” Sunflowers” and his striking self-portraits.
“The man said to me: ‘I want to return the Van Gogh. “It caused me a lot of trouble” because it couldn’t be used as a bargaining chip, Mr. Brand said.
“Thanks to an operation carried out in close coordination with the Dutch police, we were able to recover the painting,” the detective said.
The Van Gogh was returned to the director of the Groningen Museum, who had loaned it to the Singer-Karen Museum.
The painting “Two Laughing Young Men” by Frans Hals remains missing, but Mr. Brand expressed hope that it, too, will be returned soon.