Gustav Klimt painting stolen 23 years ago found

The painting "Portrait of a Lady" was stolen from a gallery in southern Piacenza, Italy, in 1997. Italian authorities believed it was lost forever - until this past December, when gardeners discovered it hidden in an outside wall - in the same gallery.

"Portrait of a Lady" was painted in 1916-1917 by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. In 1925, the work was purchased by art collector Giuseppe Ricci Oddi and displayed in Piacenza until it was stolen on February 22, 1997, just before a special exhibition was to take place there.

In December 2019, gardeners clearing away ivy discovered a metal plate on the ivy-covered wall. Inside it was a black bag containing the missing painting. "The ivy had not been removed for a decade," Italian authorities added.

Prosecutor Ornella Chicca said further tests would determine whether the painting had been on the wall since it was stolen, or had been there for some time afterward. Once those tests are complete, the work will be put back on display.

To determine that this was the original painting, experts studied it under infrared and ultraviolet light and compared it with photos and notes made in 1996. "The correspondence between the results allowed us to conclude that this was definitely the original painting," said art expert Guido Cauzzi.

He also added that the current condition of the work is still "quite good", "it also has a few scratches but just needs some simple maintenance steps, no complicated problems".

Before the painting was stolen, an art student named Claudia Maga revealed that "Portrait of a Lady" was actually painted over another Klimt painting, "Portrait of a Young Lady," which had not been seen since 1912. After some research with the Director of the gallery in Piacenza, Maga was able to prove her hypothesis. The original "Portrait of a Young Lady" depicts a young woman in Vienna. But after her sudden death, Klimt painted another painting over her, perhaps to cover up the pain she left behind.

Lan Oanh