The Art Loss Register, ALR, based in London has announced that its detectives resolved a total of eight recovery cases of missing art works in January. The recoveries include an 18th-century still life and a 16th-century Neapolitan marble.
Three of the eight recovered artworks were stolen during the Second World War, news.artnet.com informs.
Roses in an earthenware vase on a marble tabletop
1705, 28.8×24.1 cm
The Still Life of Roses painting (1706) by Willem Frederik van Royen was looted by Nazis from the Märkisches Museum in Berlin. The work was painted when the artist was living in this city and working as the court painter to Frederick I. The detectives of ALR discovered the painting when it surfaced at a UK auction house. They informed the Berlin museum, and a settlement was reached between the auction house and museum. The painting has now been returned to the gallery, and it’s been on public display since January.
Christopher Marinello, former Executive Director & General Council of The Art Loss Register, and a founder of the Art Recovery Group, holds a Henri Matisse painting, "Le Jardin" (The Garden), 1920, which was stolen in 1987 and has been found 25 years later. Photo: Ray Wells/AFP
The core of another case was the marble statue of St. John the Baptist, created by the masters of 16th-century Neapolitan school. The artwork was stolen in 1977 from the Church of San Giovanni in Naples. In autumn 2015, the ALR received a request from a Belgian who had recently bought the white Carrara marble statue from an Italian dealer. After police investigation, the statue was sent back to the church by both the Carabinieri and the Ambassador of Italy.
Cappellone del Crocifisso (Grand Chapel of the Crucifix) by Lorenzo Vaccaro in the Basilica of San Giovanni Maggiore, Naples, Italy. Photo: Wikipedia
Another interesting case includes a contemporary Chinese ink painting lost in spring 2010. It was lost en route in the US, but later discovered at a Hong Kong auction. The ALR was able to secure the painting’s proceeds of sale back to the rightful owner. According to its seller, the owner of an artists' space, the painting just turned up there one day. After the space’s closure, the art dealer decided to sell the painting at the Hong Kong auction, where it was found by the ALR.
Written by Vlad Maslow on materials by news.artnet.com.
