WORLD NEWS | Japan recovers Italian painting looted by Nazi Germany

Tokyo [Japan]July 1 (ANI): A priceless painting stolen by Nazi Germany in 1940 from Polish noblemen in 1940 was found in Japan and shipped back, the Polish embassy in Japan and a Tokyo art auction house said, Kyodo News reported. Poland.

The painting “Madonna and Child” by Italian Baroque painter Alessandro Turchi was handed over to the Polish embassy in Tokyo at the end of May, and Poland handed it over free of charge. However, it is unclear how the piece ended up in the possession of its former Japanese owner.

Read also | Riots in France: More than 1,300 people detained in violent protests as French teenager Nahel Merzouk’s funeral takes place in Paris-Nantere.

According to Kyodo News, the embassy claimed that this is the first time that art seized from Poland during the Nazi rule has been found in the Far East.

Kyodosha is a news agency headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo.

Read also | YouTube bodybuilder Joesethics dies: Fitness influencer Jo Lindner dies of an aneurysm at 30

The painting has been missing since it was auctioned off in New York in the 1990s, according to the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

The painting’s former owner requested it be auctioned in the fall of 2021, according to Tokyo’s Mainichi Auction Inc., which uploaded an image of the painting online and estimated its value at about 3 million yen ($21,000).

The Polish unit contacted the company ahead of the auction, which was due to take place in late January 2022. According to the company, Polish authorities first claimed that some elements of the painting did not match those on old photographs of the stolen artwork, which is believed to have been taken in 1939 or 1940, according to Kyodo News.

Later, a team of Polish experts traveled to Japan to verify the authenticity of the painting and confirmed that it was stolen during the Nazi occupation. A UV scan revealed that the original had been painted over in multiple places.

Yoshiaki Onoyama, head of Mainichi Auctions, which negotiated the painting’s return with its former Japanese owner, said: “The Polish citizen who gave the Madonna and Child the highest rating is once again its owner.” Owner.”

“We don’t have any financial incentives, but I think we get the job done,” he added, according to Kyodo News. (Ani)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a syndicated news feed, the latest staff may not have modified or edited the body of content)