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Italian art squad find stolen Renoir painting
ITALIAN police have recovered a painting by the French Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir, stolen in Milan in 1975 from a private collector. The Carabinieri art squad yesterday revealed they had arrested three people in a northern Italian town near the border with Austria on suspicion of trafficking in stolen artworks.
Italian art squad find stolen Renoir painting
Published Date: 27 September 2008 -Scotsman.com
ITALIAN police have recovered a painting by the French Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir, stolen in Milan in 1975 from a private collector.
The Carabinieri art squad yesterday revealed they had arrested three people in a northern Italian town near the border with Austria on suspicion of trafficking in stolen artworks.
The small oil – featuring a view of a naked woman from the back turning her head towards the viewer – has a commercial value of about £398,000 and was painted by Renoir in his later years.
Police officer Raffaele Mancino said: "It was stolen in 1975 along with other paintings from a restoration lab where the owner, who has since died, had taken it for minor repairs."
General Giovanni Nistri, art squad chief, said the trio arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen goods are a 68-year-old woman who manages an art gallery, and two men previously known to police.
He added: "It's not one of those paintings of great value. The value of the artwork is cultural rather than commercial."
Police said the painting was found after the suspects contacted an Italian art critic for a valuation.
The small oil – featuring a view of a naked woman from the back turning her head towards the viewer – has a commercial value of about £398,000 and was painted by Renoir in his later years.
Police officer Raffaele Mancino said: "It was stolen in 1975 along with other paintings from a restoration lab where the owner, who has since died, had taken it for minor repairs."
General Giovanni Nistri, art squad chief, said the trio arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen goods are a 68-year-old woman who manages an art gallery, and two men previously known to police.
He added: "It's not one of those paintings of great value. The value of the artwork is cultural rather than commercial."
Police said the painting was found after the suspects contacted an Italian art critic for a valuation.
CLE: Cultural Heritage Issues on a Global and Local Scale