LONG-LOST ARTWORK FOUND
The painting that was found in December near an art gallery and believed to be the missing Gustav Klimt painting “Portrait of a Lady” is displayed Friday during a news conference in Piacenza, Italy. Art experts have confirmed the identity of the work as “Portrait of a Lady,” which was stolen more than 20 years ago, solving one of art’s great mysteries but raising further questions about who took it and why. For story, see
PIACENZA, Italy — Art experts have confirmed that a painting discovered hidden inside an Italian art gallery’s walls last month is Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of a Lady,” which was stolen from the gallery nearly 23 years ago.
The authentication of the painting announced Friday solved one of the art world’s enduring mysteries — where did the missing work end up? — but left several questions unanswered, including who had taken it and whether it ever left the museum’s property.
A gardener at the Ricci Oddi Modern Art Gallery in the northern city of Piacenza who was clearing away ivy noticed a small panel door on a wall outside and opened it. Inside the space, he found a plastic bag containing a painting that appeared to be the missing masterpiece.
“It’s with no small emotion that I can tell you the work is authentic,” Piacenza Prosecutor Ornella Chicca told reporters Friday.
“Portrait of a Lady,” which depicts a young woman sensually glancing over her shoulder against a dreamy moss green background, is a later work by Klimt, dating from 1916-17.
Since the gardener’s discovery on Dec. 10, the canvas had been kept in a vault of a local branch of Italy’s central bank while experts used infrared radiation and other non-invasive techniques to determine if it was the original.
Experts said the painting was in remarkably good condition. A scratch near the edge of the canvas may have resulted “from a clumsy effort to remove the portrait from its frame,” said Anna Selleri, an art restorer from the National Gallery in Bologna.
So who stole the painting? Mr. Chicca said police were studying organic material on the canvas for possible leads.
“Portrait of a Lady” was officially listed as missing on Feb. 22, 1997, but might have been snatched from a gallery wall a few days earlier, during the exhibit preparation work.