Nearly 50 years later, stolen Brueghel masterpiece recovered
Nearly half a century after it disappeared from the National Museum in Gdańsk, Pieter Brueghel the Younger's painting "Woman Carrying Fire" has been found in the Netherlands. Journalists from the magazine Vind noticed the piece during an exhibition.
The Flemish-Dutch master's painting vanished under mysterious circumstances in 1974. Last year, journalists from "Vind" spotted it at an exhibition at the museum in Gouda, where it was displayed as "not seen for the last 40 years," borrowed from a private collection.
After securing the artwork, the Dutch police transferred it to the custody of one of the museums. Richard Bronswijk from the art crime department stated they are "100 percent sure" it is the same painting that disappeared from the Gdańsk museum in 1974.
The theft occurred on April 24, 1974, when a museum employee accidentally knocked the painting off the wall. To everyone's surprise, a reproduction fell from the frame instead of the original. Upon checking the collection, it was discovered that the sketch "Crucifixion" by Anton van Dyck suffered a similar fate.
When the theft was discovered, renovation work was underway in the museum. That the thieves might have accessed the interior via scaffolding outside the windows. The circumstances of the event remain unclear to this day.
The missing painting has been found. What does it look like?
"Woman Carrying Fire" is a small, round composition with a diameter of 18 cm, created using oil on wood. It depicts a peasant woman holding tongs with smouldering coals in one hand and a pot of water in the other. The painting is an allegory of a Dutch proverb: "Trust not one who carries water and fire in one hand," warning against duplicity.
The piece's value is not precisely known, but paintings by Brueghel the Younger are estimated to be worth millions of dollars. The Dutch police are investigating how the painting ended up in a private collection in the Netherlands.
The Polish authorities have been informed of the discovery and are to request legal assistance to recover the piece. The story of "Woman Carrying Fire" is another example of how artworks can unexpectedly reappear many years after disappearing.
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