The Greek government says it recovered a 1618 Rubens from two Greek thieves who were trying to sell the work for €1m:
The culture ministry would not identify the artwork, dated 1618. A Rubens painting called “The Caledonian Boar Hunt” was stolen 10 years ago from the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium, one museum official told Reuters.
“It’s a huge success that we have recovered this valuable painting,” said a police official who requested anonymity. “Culture Ministry experts who have examined it confirm its authenticity.”
Unfortunately, the museum it was stolen from now says the work is no longer considered a Rubens, according to AFP:
But the museum said the oil sketch that was stolen in 2001, “The Calydonian Boar Hunt”, is now attributed to one of Rubens’s followers and not the painter’s celebrated brush strokes. […]
At the time, thieves grabbed two paintings from the museum. On their way out, Dellaert said, the robbers dropped one of the artworks, “The Flagellation of Christ”, but ran away with “The Calydonian Boar Hunt”.
While the dropped painting is a genuine Rubens, the museum said the other piece was probably copied by one of the painter’s assistants from the original oil sketch, which is not in a private collection.
“It is itself a vigorous sketch and an attractive painting. The work is a good example of how Rubens’s style was assimilated by his pupils,” Dellaert said.
Nevertheless, the museum is eager to reclaim its painting, which at the time of the theft was worth an estimated 200,000 euros ($284,000).
Greece Says Recovers Stolen Rubens Painting (Reuters)
Belgian museum eager to reclaim stolen ‘Rubens’ painting (AFP)
