Argentina officials on Wednesday announced they had recovered a painting stolen decades ago by the Nazis following days of international intrigue and raids to track down the work of art after it was spotted in a real estate photo.
The portrait of Contessa Colleoni by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi was displayed in a room at the federal prosecutor's office in the coastal city of Mar del Plata, where officials told journalists they would soon reveal more details about the painting's recovery.
The Italian masterpiece is featured on a database of works of art stolen by the Nazis and has been missing for 80 years.
A judicial official in Mar de Plata told Reuters that Patricia Kadgien, daughter of a former Nazi official, and her husband handed over the painting to the prosecutor's office via their attorney.
"Art experts who have been following the case will be responsible for securing it to preserve the artwork," the official said.
Argentine authorities raided a house in Mar del Plata last week after the painting was shown hanging on a wall in a photo on a real estate listing, but were not able to immediately locate it.
The case captured international attention after Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad first reported that the home in the real estate listing belonged to Patricia Kadgien, daughter of Friedrich Kadgien, a senior official in Adolf Hitler's government who moved to Argentina from Germany after World War Two. He died in 1979.
A federal court ordered house arrest for Patricia Kadgien and her husband for 72 hours starting Monday. A judicial official told Reuters they would be questioned on accusations they had obstructed the investigation to locate the painting.
The portrait of Contessa Colleoni was among more than 1,000 works of art stolen by the Nazis from Amsterdam-based art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, who died in 1940.
