A painting stolen by the Nazis that was spotted in an Argentinian estate agent's advert has vanished, a prosecutor says following a raid on the home.
'Portrait of a Lady' by Giuseppe Ghislandi was featured hanging above a sofa inside a property near Buenos Aires, which was being sold by the daughter of a senior Nazi who fled Germany after World War Two.
A police raid on the house this week however turned up no painting - but two weapons were seized, federal prosecutor Carlos Martínez told local media.
Mr. Martínez said they were treating it as an alleged cover-up of smuggling, Argentinian daily Clarin reported.
The newspaper reported that the furnishings had been rearranged and the picture was missing from the wall when they raided the property. Peter Schouten of the Dutch Algemeen Dagblad newspaper, which first reported the long-lost artwork's reappearance, said there was evidence the painting was removed shortly afterwards or after the media reports about it appeared.
'Portrait of a Lady' was among the collection of Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, much of which was forcibly sold by the Nazis after his death. Some of the works were recovered in Germany after the war and put on display in Amsterdam as part of the Dutch national collection.
AD's investigation found wartime documents suggesting the painting was in possession of Friedrich Kadgien, an SS officer and financial aide to Hermann Göring, who fled to Argentina where he became a businessman. Lawyers for Goudstikker's estate are determined to reclaim their lost artworks.
'Portrait of a Lady' by Giuseppe Ghislandi was featured hanging above a sofa inside a property near Buenos Aires, which was being sold by the daughter of a senior Nazi who fled Germany after World War Two.
A police raid on the house this week however turned up no painting - but two weapons were seized, federal prosecutor Carlos Martínez told local media.
Mr. Martínez said they were treating it as an alleged cover-up of smuggling, Argentinian daily Clarin reported.
The newspaper reported that the furnishings had been rearranged and the picture was missing from the wall when they raided the property. Peter Schouten of the Dutch Algemeen Dagblad newspaper, which first reported the long-lost artwork's reappearance, said there was evidence the painting was removed shortly afterwards or after the media reports about it appeared.
'Portrait of a Lady' was among the collection of Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, much of which was forcibly sold by the Nazis after his death. Some of the works were recovered in Germany after the war and put on display in Amsterdam as part of the Dutch national collection.
AD's investigation found wartime documents suggesting the painting was in possession of Friedrich Kadgien, an SS officer and financial aide to Hermann Göring, who fled to Argentina where he became a businessman. Lawyers for Goudstikker's estate are determined to reclaim their lost artworks.
