One of the biggest art crimes in recent memory has been solved. According to CNN, two of artist Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings stolen from Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum in 2002 have been recovered. Their estimated value? $30 million.
Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen and Seascape at Scheveningen, both completed in the 1880s, were found missing after thieves used a ladder to enter the museum through the roof. Federal investigators reported in 2005 that two Dutch men had been convicted of the crime but that authorities had been unable to locate the artwork.
The trail was apparently cold until Italian authorities reached a key point in their investigation of alleged drug kingpin Raffaele Imperiale. The two paintings were discovered in the basement of one of Imperiale’s apartments.
Museum curators said only minor damage to the edges of the paintings was observed; they were otherwise in good condition and expected to be returned once a criminal trial has been completed in Italy. Imperiale is believed to be on the run in the United Arab Emirates.
[h/t CNN]
September 30, 2016 – 12:30pm