Argentine officials on Sept. 3, 2025, announced they had recovered Giuseppe Ghislandi’s portrait of Contessa Colleoni in Mar del Plata after the painting — listed in a database of works looted by the Nazis — was traced following its appearance in a real-estate photo.
Key takeaways
- The portrait of Contessa Colleoni by Giuseppe Ghislandi was recovered in Mar del Plata and presented to prosecutors on Sept. 3, 2025.
- The work had been missing for about 80 years and is listed among items stolen from Amsterdam dealer Jacques Goudstikker.
- Authorities located the lead through a real-estate listing photo and carried out raids before the painting was handed over.
- Patricia Kadgien, daughter of former Nazi official Friedrich Kadgien, and her husband surrendered the painting via counsel; both were placed under 72-hour house arrest for questioning.
- Officials said art experts will secure and preserve the canvas while investigators verify provenance and next steps.
Verified facts
On Sept. 3, Argentine prosecutors displayed the recovered portrait at the federal prosecutor’s office in the coastal city of Mar del Plata. The painting is identified as Giuseppe Ghislandi’s portrait of Contessa Colleoni and has been recorded for decades on registries of Nazi-looted art.
Investigators moved after the painting appeared on the wall in a photograph attached to a property listing. Law enforcement carried out a raid on a house in Mar del Plata the previous week but did not immediately recover the artwork; it was later handed over to prosecutors by the owners’ lawyer.
A judicial official named the individuals who surrendered the painting as Patricia Kadgien and her husband. Patricia Kadgien is the daughter of Friedrich Kadgien, a senior official in Adolf Hitler’s government who emigrated to Argentina after World War II and died in 1979. A federal court ordered 72 hours of house arrest for the couple as part of an obstruction inquiry.
The portrait was among a trove of more than 1,000 pieces stolen from Amsterdam-based art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, who died in 1940. Argentine officials said specialists who have been following the case will now take custody of the painting to ensure its preservation while provenance and ownership claims are resolved.
Context & impact
The recovery fits a broader pattern of renewed efforts to identify and return art looted during the Nazi era. High-profile discoveries in recent years have often followed digital tips, archival research or chance sightings in private collections and online listings.
For heirs of dealers like Jacques Goudstikker, recovered works can carry significant cultural and monetary value, and restitution processes typically involve complex legal, diplomatic and conservation steps. Argentina’s role as a destination for many migrants after World War II makes it a focal point for several historical restitution inquiries.
- Legal follow-up may include provenance verification, claims by heirs, and potential international coordination for restitution.
- Conservation teams will assess the painting’s condition before any public display or transfer.
Officials said art specialists who have tracked the matter will secure the painting to preserve it while investigators complete their review.
Federal prosecutor’s office, Mar del Plata
Unconfirmed
- Exact chain of custody for the painting between 1945 and its recent appearance remains under investigation.
- Whether Patricia Kadgien or her husband knowingly concealed the work or how it reached the property listing has not been independently verified.
- Any formal restitution claim from Goudstikker’s heirs or next steps for repatriation had not been announced at the time of this report.
Bottom line
The recovery of the Ghislandi portrait resolves a decades-old gap in the record of Nazi-looted art but likely marks the beginning of a legal and conservation process to establish rightful ownership and the painting’s future. Observers expect prosecutors, art experts and potential claimants to pursue provenance work and negotiation in the months ahead.