France gives long-unclaimed artwork to Jewish couple’s heirs

PARIS - France has returned a 16th century oil painting that fell into Nazi hands during World War II to a Jewish couple’s heirs.

The Flemish painting titled “Triptych of the Crucifixion” and attributed to Joachim Patinir sat unclaimed in a French museum for seven decades.

French Culture Minister Francoise Nyssen presented it to the grandchildren of Hertha and Henry Bromberg during a ceremony in Paris’ culture ministry on Monday. The Jewish couple sold works under duress to secure their passage from Nazi Germany to the United States.

Grandson Christopher Bromberg said “the feeling of thanks and gratitude is more valuable than the painting itself.”

France has in recent years dialed up efforts to identify the owners of lost or looted World War II treasures.