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Italian police officers standing by the painting, which was stolen in 1997. Photo: AFP

Painting found in Italian gallery’s walls confirmed as stolen Klimt

  • ‘Portrait of a Lady’ was discovered by a gardener last month while clearing ivy at the Ricci Oddi Modern Art Gallery
  • The painting disappeared from the gallery during renovation work in 1997
Italy
Art experts have confirmed that a stolen painting discovered hidden inside an Italian art gallery’s walls is Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of a Lady, prosecutors said on Friday.

A gardener reported finding an artwork inside a bag last month while clearing ivy at the Ricci Oddi Modern Art Gallery in the northern city of Piacenza. Portrait of a Lady disappeared from the gallery during renovation work in February 1997.

“It’s with no small emotion that I can tell you the work is authentic,” Piacenza Prosecutor Ornella Chicca told reporters at a news conference.

The portrait, of a young woman sensually glancing over her shoulder against a dreamy green background, was displayed on an easel and flanked by two police officers during the announcement.

Klimt painting shown in Hong Kong ahead of London auction

The painting is a later work by the Austrian art nouveau master. Klimt painted it in 1916-17, and its disappearance had been one of the art world’s biggest mysteries.

The museum estimated the painting could be worth between 60 and 100 million euros (US$67-111 million).

There had been widespread optimism in Italian art circles that the gardener’s discovery would turn out to be the missing Klimt. Italy’s Piacenza Sera quoted gallery officials as saying the back of the canvas bore stamps that were put on when the painting was on loan.

Since its discovery, the work had been kept in a vault of a local branch of Italy’s central bank.

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