MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Valuable painting stolen by Nazis surfaces in Mar del Plata

The painting is believed to still be in the Mar del Plata house, but the ad photos have been removed from the realtor's website

A centuries-old painting stolen from a Jewish art dealer by the Nazis during World War II wound up in Mar del Plata, Argentina, and it was discovered when realtors published images of a property for sale, where it was displayed by the heirs of a former German SS officer.

“Portrait of a Lady” by Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi (1655–1743), once belonged to Jacques Goudstikker, who died in 1940 while fleeing Nazi persecution.

The piece is believed to have arrived in Argentina with SS officer Friedrich Kadgien, a close associate of Hermann Göring, who settled in Buenos Aires and died there in 1978. Kadgien had reportedly amassed a collection of looted art and diamonds during the occupation of Amsterdam.

The painting came to light when one of Kadgien’s daughters listed her home for sale in Mar del Plata. A photo published by the real estate agency showed the Ghislandi portrait hanging above the sofa in the living room. Dutch newspaper “AD”, which had been investigating the painting’s whereabouts for years, confirmed its presence before the listing and images were removed.

Experts from the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE) stated that the dimensions match archival records and that only a physical inspection of the reverse side could definitively verify its authenticity through original markings or labels. “There is no reason to believe that it is a copy, as the measurements match the information available,” the RCE pointed out.

Goudstikker’s heirs, who successfully reclaimed 202 artworks in 2006 after a prolonged legal battle, have announced their intention to claim the painting, believed to depict Countess Colleoni. Marei von Saher, 81, the widow of Goudstikker’s son-in-law, reaffirmed her commitment to recovering every stolen piece from the collection. “My search for my father-in-law's works began in the late 1990s, and I have not given up on it to this day. My family's goal is to recover every stolen piece from the collection and restore his legacy,” she said.

The RCE cautioned that the case could lead to a complex legal dispute if the current owners resist returning the artwork. Investigators have identified another potentially looted painting—a floral still life by Dutch artist Abraham Mignon—on the social media profiles of Kadgien’s descendants, though its provenance remains under review.