Incredible in Piacenza, found (maybe) the Klimt stolen 23 years ago. Appraisal awaits

It has something incredible about the discovery made today at the Ricci Oddi Gallery in Piacenza: in fact, during some maintenance operations, gardeners found what could be the Portrait of a Lady by Gustav Klimt (Vienna, 1862 - 1918) stolen from the Gallery in 1997. The work was found in a black bag, which was hidden inside a niche unearthed during the cleaning of ivy covering an exterior wall. The niche was closed by a flap. According to Gallery director Massimo Ferrari, the stamps and wax that appear on the back of the work are the original ones. As a result of the discovery, the museum was closed and the authorities were notified, who took charge of the painting and handed it over to the judiciary.The work is now in a safe place and awaiting technical and scientific expertise that will have to ascertain whether the work is indeed the one that has been missing from the museum for twenty-three years.

The canvas had been stolen from the Ricci Oddi Gallery between February 19 and 21, 1997 (the theft was discovered on the morning of the 22nd): it is speculated that the thieves hid it in anticipation of returning to retrieve it at a more favorable time. Given, however, the media attention aroused by the outcry over the theft and the measures taken by the museum, which immediately strengthened its surveillance, the thieves would have had no chance to recover it.

If indeed the appraisals confirm the authenticity of the work, this will be a great achievement for Italian art, and probably as early as the beginning of 2020 the painting will be able to be exhibited again: that, at least, is the hope of Piacenza City Councilor for Culture Jonathan Papamarenghi, according to whom as early as January the work will be able to go on display in the event that technicians ascertain its authenticity. The alderman is beaming and comments on his Facebook page stating that this is the “best news I expected for the city as culture alderman,” and the “greatest Christmas gift for the international art and cultural community.”

The Portrait of a Lady is among the most sought-after works in the world and is part of the very small nucleus of Klimt’s paintings in Italian museums: apart from the Ricci Oddi canvas, there are only two(more on this here: one is kept at the Ca’ Pesaro Gallery in Venice, the other at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome). The painting dates from around 1916-1917 and is part of the original nucleus of the Ricci Oddi Gallery, which was opened to the public on October 11, 1931 after a long affair involving the collector Giuseppe Ricci Oddi (Piacenza, 1868 - 1936), who had wanted to donate his collection to his hometown without asking for anything in return: the Ritratto di signora (Portrait of a Lady ) was purchased in 1925 by the Scopinich gallery in Milan (it seems Ricci Oddi bought it at the suggestion of Giulio Ulisse Arata, the architect who designed the gallery). It is part of Klimt’s extreme production, during which elegant, sophisticated and introspective female portraits such as Piacenza’s are frequent.

Pictured: Gustav Klimt, Portrait of a Lady (1916-1918; oil on canvas, 68 x 55 cm; Piacenza, Ricci Oddi Gallery)

Incredible in Piacenza, found (maybe) the Klimt stolen 23 years ago. Appraisal awaits

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