Klimt’s stolen ‘Portrait of a Lady’ found in gallery wall by gardener?

[Keine Engel]

Portrait of a Lady: Gallery gardener may have solved mystery of stolen Klimt painting​

Gustav Klimt's Portrait of a Lady vanished from the Ricci Oddi art gallery in the northern Italian city of Piacenza in 1997.

Painting found stashed inside Italian gallery walls may be stolen Klimt ​

Italian detectives may be on the cusp of solving one of the art world’s most baffling mysteries after a Gustav Klimt painting thought to be stolen may have been found stashed within the walls of the gallery where it went missing over two decades ago.

Earlier this week, a gardener clearing ivy from Ricci-Oddi modern art gallery in the northern city of Piacenza noticed a metal panel in the wall and pried it open to peer inside the nook between the external and internal gallery walls.

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“I found this box inside a black sack and at first I thought it was trash, but then I called my superiors right away,” the worker told Italian media.

'Portrait of a Lady'* was discovered when ivy was cleared off the wall of the Ricci Oddi gallery in the northern city of Piacenza.
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Gallery officials, reached by the Telegraph, said they are thrilled about the unexpected find during routine winter maintenance and are cautiously optimistic that the painting is indeed Klimt’s “Portrait of a Lady,” which went missing from the gallery in February 1997.

“It would be the best Christmas present ever,” said Gallery Vice President Laura Bonfanti.

*The gallery has said it will not be commenting on the finding until the painting's authenticity is checked.*

The Telegraph
SkyNews

 

[Keine Engel]

I know technically this a 'Crime in the News' but as it's seemingly a rather 'victimless' crime (as of now) it seems more appropriate in here?

Please move thou if this isn't the right thread for the topic.

(I've posted this separately from ^ so can be deleted if necessary)

There has been quite a few interesting 'Art' related news items recently so maybe this could be a thread to post in about them?

 

[Keine Engel]

What made me think a specific 'Art' thread may be of interest was due to my curiosity to see if there's been any updates in the 'Green Vault Heist' & the 'Theft of the Blenheim Palace Golden Toilet'
Looking for any news I came across this article which was interesting

The art of hunting down stolen treasures​

Only a day after it was plumbed into one of Blenheim Palace's grand rooms, a solid gold toilet created by artist Maurizio Cattelan was ripped out and stolen.

More than two months later, police are seemingly no closer to bringing charges over the raid, described as being like something from a "heist movie".

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Renowned art detective Charley Hill explains the complexities of solving such crimes.

Mr Hill doesn't believe the toilet was taken to order for a rich client - "the stuff in movies is by and large rubbish" - and is doubtful whether the piece even exists any more.

"All they know is that it's made of gold and they have a few bob coming if they cut it up, melt it down and flog the gold," he says...

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Local rumours say it's been spotted in the village chippie!​

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Mr Hill knows what he's talking about, having helped solve one of the most high-profile art crimes of the 20th Century - the 1994 theft from an Oslo museum of an 1893 version of Edvard Munch's The Scream.

The Scream
Edvard Munch
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"I have got no interest at all in arresting people, however with this kind of crime you want to get these things back, and sticking somebody up in front of a court is pointless - it doesn't actually recover these things.

But this part in particular caught my eye

" It's safe to say the owner of the toilet is unlikely to call in Mr Hill to crack this crime, but he isn't short of work.

He says he's close to solving the theft of 13 artworks from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990 - a case he's been working on for more than 25 years.

BBC

What Happened to the Stolen Gold Toilet?​

There is still no sign of Maurizio Cattelan’s “America,” which disappeared from a palace in England two months ago. But theories abound.

Maurizio Cattelan for Arte Generali.
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“Quite honestly, people think it’s a joke,” she said. There were even a few spray-painted imitations round the town, she added.

The Woodstock Arms, a local pub, until some merry patrons stole that one, too, said Ross Phillips, the pub’s manager.

NYTimes

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

who might put it there and why? Without telling anyone? Hmmm, odd, but that's the art world for us!

 

[squareandrabbet]

If everything is as-described, it sounds like this was indeed an inside job.

Maybe the thief/thieves in question realized they couldn't sell or do anything else with the picture.

 

[Keine Engel]

who might put it there and why? Without telling anyone? Hmmm, odd, but that's the art world for us!

Yeah there was definitely some thought & effort put into that 'hiding place'
It looks like a safe embedded into the wall.
All for nothing!

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

maybe inside job, thief was waiting for the right time to extract it and sell? Who knows, maybe it is not even authentic and just a fun ruse!

 

[Barnabas]

Klimt is one of my favorite artists. Alas, I only have canvas prints of a few pieces...I have champagne taste on a beer budget.

 

[whitelilac]

It does sound like an inside job I agree.
I wonder if any security guards, museum workers, personnel whoever, were dismissed, became ill, were arrested for something unrelated, or died shortly after the theft back then. Or, as was said above, thief could not find a buyer, or a "buyer" chickened out or could not pay for whatever reason.

 

[Keine Engel]

So it does look to be THE authentic painting. Whilst the gallery are holding off officially confirming it until proper testing has verified the find, they seem pretty certain.

Painting Found Inside Walls of Italian Gallery May Be a Stolen Klimt​

In the winter of 1997, the Ricci Oddi was preparing to send Portrait of a Lady to a new location near Piacenza’s City Hall, where it would be the centerpiece of an exhibition highlighting a remarkable discovery about the artwork...
A few months earlier, an 18-year-old art student named Claudia Maga was flipping through a book of Klimt’s works when she realized that Portrait of a Lady bore a remarkable similarity to another Klimt painting, similarly titled Portrait of a Young Lady, that had not been seen since 1912.

X-rays revealed that the 1917 portrait had, in fact, been painted over Portrait of a Young Lady, making it the only known “double” Klimt work. Thrilled over the new finding, Piacenza planned to show off the painting in a special exhibition. But on February 22, 1997, Portrait of a Lady vanished from the Ricci Oddi.

The case confounded investigators. The portrait’s frame was found on the roof of the gallery, leading detectives to suspect that the thief or thieves had attached the painting to a line and pulled it up through a skylight. But according to Paradiso, authorities soon discovered that the frame would not fit through the skylight, raising questions as to how exactly it ended up on the roof...

In April 1997, police seized a package that they believed contained the missing artwork, only to discover that the painting inside was a fake. The investigation was ultimately closed, then reopened in 2016, when DNA traces were discovered on the frame

That same year, an unidentified man told Paradiso that he had been involved in the theft, and that he believed the artwork would be returned by the 20th anniversary of its disappearance. February 2017 came and went, but Portrait of a Lady remained missing...

“The strangest thing is that the painting is in excellent condition. It does not seem like it has been locked under a trapdoor for 22 years.”

Ricci Oddi officials have stressed that the authenticity of the painting still needs to be evaluated, but gallery vice president Laura Bonfanti tells the Telegraph’s Vogt that “based on the wax seals and stamps we saw on the back of the canvas, it appears to be the original.”

Smithsonian

Mystery solved: "stolen" Klimt painting apparently found inside Italian gallery"s wall
(1:55min)
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To clarify, it was found on the INNER side of the wall.
Soooo... that pretty much leans heavily towards an inside-job I imagine.

 

[iulia]

According to the art expert Guido Cauzzi who studied the work under infrared and UV-light, comparing images to those taken during tests performed in 1996, it is undoubtedly Klimt’s work.

«The correspondence between the images allowed us to determine that it’s definitely the original painting,» Cauzzi said and added with the satisfaction that the condition of the painting was «relatively good».

«It’s gone through a few ordeals, but only needs some routine care, nothing particularly complicated,» Cauzzi added.


Painting found in Italy wall confirmed as stolen Klimt

 

[Barnabas]

It’s incredible. Thankfully it was found and not lost forever. I get a chill looking at it...would love to have it on my wall

 

[katydid23]

It does sound like an inside job I agree.
I wonder if any security guards, museum workers, personnel whoever, were dismissed, became ill, were arrested for something unrelated, or died shortly after the theft back then. Or, as was said above, thief could not find a buyer, or a "buyer" chickened out or could not pay for whatever reason.

I bet they are asking themselves those same questions right now.

It doesn't seem like all of that could have been done by just one employee, unless they were very high up the food chain. But maybe they were especially cunning and crafty?

After all that work and planning, it was just left there? Possibly they were going to wait a few years longer and pick it up when they thought no one would remember? lol