Investigators have tracked down and solved an art heist that took place more than half a century ago. Antonio Solario’s Madonna and Child was stolen from the Civic Museum of Belluno, a town 62 miles north of Venice, in 1973. However, there was a catch to retrieving the painting: The person in possession of the stolen artwork didn’t actually steal it.
According to the report released by Art Recovery International (ARI), which handles the recovery of stolen and looted works of art, Barbara de Dozsa, the Baroness de Dozsa, inherited the painting from her late ex-husband. The Baron allegedly bought the painting in good faith in Austria in 1973, shortly after the painting had been stolen. He later brought it back to his Norfolk estate, where it remained for the next five decades, stumping authorities as to its whereabouts. It wasn’t until the Baroness tried to sell it at a regional auction house in 2017 that it turned up on anyone’s radar.
Christopher Marinello, founder and CEO of Art Recovery International, holding the stolen artwork. Art Recovery International
Initially, Baroness de Dozsa rebuffed ARI’s efforts to reclaim the painting for its rightful owners, the museum in Belluno, which acquired the painting in 1872. She initially cited the UK Limitations Act of 1980, which states that a buyer of stolen goods can become the legal owner if the purchase was unrelated to the theft and six years have passed.
“Nonsense,” said Christopher A. Marinello, an art lawyer and ARI founder, in the report. “While the UK Limitations Act certainly supported her position, the fact that the painting was listed on the Interpol and Carabinieri stolen art databases meant that the painting could never be sold, exhibited, or even transported without the risk of being seized.”
A formal ceremony was held at the Civic Museum of Belluno to celebrate the painting’s return. Art Recovery International
After some convincing, Barbara de Dozsa handed the painting over to ARI, and it was formally returned to the Civic Museum of Belluno, where it will be on display until July 27. After that, it will undergo a formal restoration.
You Might Also Like