Marโข del Plata, โArgentina – Argentine authorities have detained a woman linked to the familyโข of former โขSS officer Friedrich Kadgien after a painting allegedly stolen during the Nazi regime was discovered advertised for sale in a property listing. The detention is partโข of a โข72-hourโฃ examination pending aโข formalโ accusation hearing,โ according to the prosecutor’s office.
Theโ painting, identified as “Portrait of a โฃLady” by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi (1655-1743),โ originally belonged to Dutch Jewish collector Jacquesโ Goudstikker. Its potential location โคsurfaced when the Dutch newspaper AD spotted the artwork in photographs of a house for โคsale in Mar del Plata, 400 km โฃsouth of Buenosโ Aires, ownedโค by โคKadgien’s โขdescendants.
Despite four raids conductedโข on Monday, authorities have โคnot yet recovered the โฃpainting. “So far theโ wanted picture was not found orโ deliveredโข in judicial headquarters,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated.
The Kadgien family,through โคtheir lawyer Carlos Murias,acknowledged ownership of the artwork in a legal document,claiming it as partโข of their inheritance and asserting any related โคclaimsโ are โtime-barred. Murias described the attempted โcharge of “smuggling โคcover” โคas “a โstrange figure of a prescribed crime.”
During a search of a sister’s property, police seized two paintings from theโ 1800s, which are nowโฃ undergoing analysis to determine if they are connected to Nazi-eraโค art theft. Interpol and the Argentine Federal โPolice are involved in the โinvestigation.The heirs โคof Jacques Goudstikker are actively seekingโ the painting’s return, as it isโ listed โon international databases of missing artwork.Kadgien, known as the ‘Magician of Finance’ of the โSS, died โinโ Argentina inโค 1978.