A portrait looted by the Nazis during World War II has been spotted on a website advertising a house for sale in Argentina. The painting, “Portrait of a Lady” by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi, was stolen from Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker in Amsterdam in 1940. The work is listed as “unreturned” in the Dutch culture ministry’s database.
After tracing the artwork through investigation and estate agent contact, the Dutch newspaper AD discovered that it was part of a collection once owned by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, a close associate of Adolf Hitler. Göring had bought the collection at a fraction of its true value after Goudstikker fled to safety.
The painting is believed to be one of two works in the possession of Friedrich Kadgien, a Nazi official who fled to Brazil and later Argentina. Art historians confirm that the composition matches an earlier black-and-white photograph, while researchers believe it may be a second missing work by 17th-century Dutch artist Abraham Mignon.
Kadgien’s heirs have been contacted, with Goudstikker’s daughter-in-law Marei von Saher expressing her determination to recover the artwork and restore her late father-in-law’s legacy. The search for looted artworks began in the 1990s, and AD reports that efforts will be made to bring the painting back to its rightful owners.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/26/old-master-painting-giuseppe-ghislandi-looted-by-nazis-argentina-property-listing