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| 2 van Gogh Paintings Stolen From Amsterdam Are Recovered in Italy | 2 van Gogh Paintings Stolen From Amsterdam Are Recovered in Italy |
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| AMSTERDAM — Two van Gogh paintings that were stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in 2002 have been recovered in Italy, the chief public prosecutor in Naples announced on Friday. | AMSTERDAM — Two van Gogh paintings that were stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in 2002 have been recovered in Italy, the chief public prosecutor in Naples announced on Friday. |
| They were retrieved during a huge and continuing investigation into organized crime by a specialized team in the Italian public prosecutions department, the museum said. | They were retrieved during a huge and continuing investigation into organized crime by a specialized team in the Italian public prosecutions department, the museum said. |
| “The paintings have been found!” Axel Rüger, director of the Van Gogh Museum, said in a statement released on Friday. “That I would be able to ever pronounce these words is something I had no longer dared to hope for.” | “The paintings have been found!” Axel Rüger, director of the Van Gogh Museum, said in a statement released on Friday. “That I would be able to ever pronounce these words is something I had no longer dared to hope for.” |
| The paintings, “Seascape at Scheveningen” (1882) and “Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen” (1884/85), early works van Gogh painted in Holland, were stolen from the Amsterdam museum very early one December morning. The burglars climbed to the roof using a ladder, broke through a window, stole the two works and then escaped out the side of the building using a rope. | The paintings, “Seascape at Scheveningen” (1882) and “Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen” (1884/85), early works van Gogh painted in Holland, were stolen from the Amsterdam museum very early one December morning. The burglars climbed to the roof using a ladder, broke through a window, stole the two works and then escaped out the side of the building using a rope. |
| A news release from the Italian prosecutors’ office said that the works had been recovered during an investigation of the Amato Pagano clan of the Camorra Mafia family, which is associated with international cocaine trafficking. | A news release from the Italian prosecutors’ office said that the works had been recovered during an investigation of the Amato Pagano clan of the Camorra Mafia family, which is associated with international cocaine trafficking. |
| In recent weeks, a judge had ordered the preventive confiscation of goods owned by the clan, including real estate and a small plane, and the police came across the paintings in a building affiliated with the gang, investigators said. | In recent weeks, a judge had ordered the preventive confiscation of goods owned by the clan, including real estate and a small plane, and the police came across the paintings in a building affiliated with the gang, investigators said. |
| In a statement, prosecutors described the Amato Pagano clan as “one of the most dangerous and active crime groups among the Camorra gangs of the territory.” | In a statement, prosecutors described the Amato Pagano clan as “one of the most dangerous and active crime groups among the Camorra gangs of the territory.” |
| Col. Giovanni Salerno, the commander of the Naples financial police group that carried out the investigation, told Sky News on Friday that the find was part of “a more complex investigation that had gone on for some time,” revealing the links between specific international trafficking groups and some Camorra families. | Col. Giovanni Salerno, the commander of the Naples financial police group that carried out the investigation, told Sky News on Friday that the find was part of “a more complex investigation that had gone on for some time,” revealing the links between specific international trafficking groups and some Camorra families. |
| “They made a fortune for these organizations, because the profits were enormous,” he said. In January, for example, the police had confiscated 30 villas in Spain linked to the Amato Pagano clan. | “They made a fortune for these organizations, because the profits were enormous,” he said. In January, for example, the police had confiscated 30 villas in Spain linked to the Amato Pagano clan. |
| The Italian culture minister, Dario Franceschini, said in a statement on Friday that the investigation “confirmed how much criminal organizations are interested in works of art, which are used as a form of investment as well as a front of financing.” | The Italian culture minister, Dario Franceschini, said in a statement on Friday that the investigation “confirmed how much criminal organizations are interested in works of art, which are used as a form of investment as well as a front of financing.” |
| At the time of the crime, the estimated value of both works was 4 million euros, or about $4.5 million, according to Adriaan Dönszelmann, managing director of the Van Gogh Museum. He declined to comment on the possible value of the works today, because he said “they will not be traded.” | |
| While works by van Gogh have sold for as much as $82.5 million at auction, pieces from his Hague period and of this style tend to sell for quite a bit less. In June 2015, Christie’s in London sold a Hague-period van Gogh from 1882 for 2.3 million pounds, or about $3.7 million at the time. A landscape he painted in Nuenen sold at Sotheby’s London in 2013 for £1.3 million. | While works by van Gogh have sold for as much as $82.5 million at auction, pieces from his Hague period and of this style tend to sell for quite a bit less. In June 2015, Christie’s in London sold a Hague-period van Gogh from 1882 for 2.3 million pounds, or about $3.7 million at the time. A landscape he painted in Nuenen sold at Sotheby’s London in 2013 for £1.3 million. |
| Mr. Dönszelmann said in an interview that Italian police officials had contacted the museum on Tuesday and had asked if a specialist could travel to Italy to look at two paintings that had been recovered there. “It was absolutely exciting,” he said. | Mr. Dönszelmann said in an interview that Italian police officials had contacted the museum on Tuesday and had asked if a specialist could travel to Italy to look at two paintings that had been recovered there. “It was absolutely exciting,” he said. |
| Arthur Brand, an independent Dutch art crimes investigator who has been following the case, said that only 5 percent to 10 percent of stolen art cases were ever solved, so the Italian police were lucky that they had stumbled onto the painting during a house raid. | Arthur Brand, an independent Dutch art crimes investigator who has been following the case, said that only 5 percent to 10 percent of stolen art cases were ever solved, so the Italian police were lucky that they had stumbled onto the painting during a house raid. |
| “In this case, they were most likely used in what we call ‘art-napping’ — the Mafia often steals work of art and uses them as a kind of payment within their own families,” he said. “Or if a boss is caught, he can sometimes make a deal for a lesser sentence in exchange for offering to help find stolen works of art.” | “In this case, they were most likely used in what we call ‘art-napping’ — the Mafia often steals work of art and uses them as a kind of payment within their own families,” he said. “Or if a boss is caught, he can sometimes make a deal for a lesser sentence in exchange for offering to help find stolen works of art.” |
| Mr. Brand also said that it was known that the paintings had been circulating in the Dutch criminal underworld shortly after they were stolen, and were, at one point, offered to Cornelis van Hout, who was behind the kidnapping of the beer magnate Freddy Heineken. (Mr. van Hout did not buy them, and be was shot and killed shortly eafter, most likely for reasons unrelated to the paintings.) | |
| Both of the paintings were found without their frames and have suffered some damage. The paint on the bottom left corner of “Seascape at Scheveningen” has broken away, and “Reformed Church in Nuenen” seems to have minor damage around the edges of the canvas, according to the news release. More examination of the works is needed to determine the extent of the damage. | |
| The significance of the works to the Van Gogh Museum comes from the subjects he painted: The Scheveningen painting is one of only two seascape paintings from the Hague period in the museum’s collection. The church painting has personal emotional value, said Mr. Dönszelmann, because it depicts the church in Nuenen where van Gogh’s father served as pastor. After his father’s death, van Gogh added figures in mourning dress leaving the church, and he gave it as a gift to his mother. | The significance of the works to the Van Gogh Museum comes from the subjects he painted: The Scheveningen painting is one of only two seascape paintings from the Hague period in the museum’s collection. The church painting has personal emotional value, said Mr. Dönszelmann, because it depicts the church in Nuenen where van Gogh’s father served as pastor. After his father’s death, van Gogh added figures in mourning dress leaving the church, and he gave it as a gift to his mother. |