A stolen portrait of Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck has been returned to Chatsworth House, an English stately home, after 45 years.
The 17th-century painting by Flemish artist Erasmus Quellinus II was stolen in 1979 during a “smash and grab” raid at Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne, where it was on loan. Chatsworth House, renowned for its English Baroque architecture, had long assumed the artwork was lost for good.
In 2020, Belgian art historian Bert Schepers discovered the painting at an auction in Toulon, southern France. Schepers alerted Chatsworth House, which, with the help of the Art Loss Register—a leading database for stolen and missing art—successfully reclaimed the piece.
Charles Noble, Chatsworth’s curator of fine art, expressed his excitement: “It was over 40 years ago, and it seemed very unlikely we would recover the painting. It’s thrilling to have it back and to share it with our visitors once more.”
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