A woman has been arrested in Argentina after a painting looted by the Nazis during World War II mysteriously disappeared from her living-room wall. Patricia Kadgien and her husband are now under house arrest, accused of concealing a crime amid an investigation into the whereabouts of A Lady’s Portrait, a 17th-century painting by Italian master Giuseppe Ghislandi.
The artwork was confiscated by the Nazis as part of the collection of Jacques Goudstikker, a prominent Amsterdam art dealer who died fleeing the German invasion in 1940. The painting, depicting the Contessa Colleoni, had been listed internationally as lost art and featured on the official Dutch registry of Nazi-looted works.
Authorities spotted the painting hanging in Kadgien’s home when she listed the property for sale through a local agent in Mar del Plata. However, when police later visited the house, the artwork had been replaced by a tapestry depicting horses.
It is believed the painting was brought to Argentina after the war by Patricia’s father, Friedrich Kadgien, who fled Europe via Switzerland and Brazil before his death in 1978. Friedrich Kadgien was known to have worked as an aide to Hermann Göring, one of the most notorious art looters of the Third Reich.
Jacques Goudstikker’s family, who reclaimed over 200 artworks from the Dutch state in 2007, have pledged to continue their efforts to recover every piece stolen from his collection. Meanwhile, Patricia Kadgien and her husband claim ownership of the painting and have requested local courts to take custody of the artwork pending resolution of the dispute.
