Two paintings stolen from a Venetian family found in Germany

In 2011, two paintings were stolen from a Venetian noble family: the“Adoration of the Shepherds” attributed to Lazzaro Baldi, a pupil of Pietro da Cortona, and “Ananias Heals Blindness” attributed to Niccolò Berrettoni, a pupil of Carlo Maratta.Today, carabinieri from the Venice Cultural Heritage Protection Unit (Tpc) and the Territorial Carabinieri found the two works in Germany after an investigation that started with a 2016 check on the catalog of a well-known auction house in Munich, where they had been auctioned.

The investigation revealed that a group of five people (3 Italians and 2 foreigners) at a date before the theft was reported, it was November 2011, taking advantage of the absence of the owners, had removed several paintings, replacing the originals with cleverly forged copies by photographic reproduction on “canvas.” The “fake works,” mounted on frames and relocated in their original frames, were also retouched and antiqued with colors, so as to make one perceive by touch, the feel of the pictorial material.

Following the recent discovery of the two paintings stolen and illegally exported from the territory of the Italian state, the Venice Public Prosecutor ’s Office forwarded a request for international judicial assistance to the GermanJudicial Authority, which, after acquiring the sources of evidence gathered by the Venice TPC Carabinieri, ordered the return of the paintings to their rightful owner.

Two paintings stolen from a Venetian family found in Germany

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