A Sixteenth-century portray stolen from an Italian museum greater than half a century in the past has resurfaced—not in a grand gallery or a non-public assortment, however on the heart of a bitter dispute between an English widow and a small-town museum in northern Italy.
The work in query, Madonna and Little one by Antonio Solario, was stolen in 1973 from the civic museum in Belluno, a picturesque city within the Dolomites. Some years later, it discovered its option to the English countryside, bought by the late Baron de Dozsa and housed in his Tudor manor. The portray stays within the possession of Barbara de Dozsa, the late Baron’s former spouse, regardless of being listed in Interpol’s database of stolen artworks, the Related Press reported Tuesday.
Christopher Marinello, a lawyer specializing in artwork restitution, has vowed to see the portray returned to Italy. His agency, Artwork Restoration Worldwide, has helped reclaim works by the likes of Henri Matisse and Henry Moore. However this case has proved notably irritating.
“I’ve a household connection to this area, and I made a decision I used to be going to stay my two cents in and intervene,” Marinello instructed the AP.
His interference has, to date, led nowhere. De Dozsa, he says, has refused to launch the portray, regardless of admitting that she “by no means actually preferred it” and doesn’t cling the image as a result of “it reminds her of her ex-husband.”
The saga took an additional twist when the portray’s standing was flagged after de Dozsa tried to promote it at public sale. The sale was halted, and Norfolk Constabulary, the native police drive, was referred to as in. But as a substitute of confiscating the work, British authorities returned it to de Dozsa. Norfolk police instructed the AP that as a result of Italian authorities had not pursued the case in years, judicial steering suggested towards additional motion.
For Belluno, the portray’s worth extends far past its estimated worth—the report for a Solario at public sale was made again in 2007 at Sotheby’s in Milan, simply over $100,000 for a Madonna and little one image. A special Madonna and little one image didn’t promote at Christie’s Outdated Masters II sale in 2023. Solario was a Renaissance artist who labored in Naples and Venice. For Belluno’s residents, the Madonna and Little one represents a bit of their cultural heritage.
The widow, the lawyer, and the city stay at an deadlock. Whether or not the portray will ever return to Belluno, or stay in exile in England, hinges on Marinello’s authorized marketing campaign.
