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n Argentine federal court announced on Wednesday that authorities had recovered the long-lost "Portrait of a Lady," an 18th-century painting by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi, which was looted by the Nazis during World War II. The painting, valued at around $50,000, had not been seen publicly in 80 years and was rediscovered when it appeared in an online real estate listing last month.
The first-ever color photo of the portrait surfaced in a real estate listing posted unwittingly by one of the daughters of Friedrich Kadgien, a fugitive Nazi officer accused of stealing the painting from a Dutch Jewish art collector. The discovery was made by Dutch journalists investigating Kadgien's past in Argentina, where he fled after the collapse of the Third Reich.
The painting, which depicts Countess Colleoni with her hair ink-black and dress embroidered with pastel flowers, was displayed at a press conference on Wednesday in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Federal prosecutor Daniel Adler said that the community had played a key role in the discovery and that the investigation was prompted by journalists from the area.
The sudden reappearance of the painting last week was short-lived, as it was removed from an online real estate listing within hours of its publication. Police raided the home of Patricia Kadgien, the Nazi officer's daughter, but the painting was not there. Authorities later seized paintings and engravings from other homes belonging to the Kadgien sisters in Mar del Plata.
Patricia Kadgien and her husband were placed under house arrest pending a hearing on charges of concealment and obstruction of justice. The prosecutor's office said that the couple's lawyer had handed over the painting earlier on Wednesday, but it was unclear where the portrait would go next. An art expert involved in the investigation described the painting as being in good condition given its age and dating it back to 1710.
