Mystery as Gustav Klimt masterpiece ‘is found in excellent condition’ hidden in a wall at Italian gallery 22 years after police said thieves had used a fishing line to steal it
- Klimt’s ‘Portrait of a Lady’ believed to been found in wall of the Ricci Oddi gallery
- Artwork was stolen from same gallery in 1997 by thieves who ‘used a fishing line’
- Italian police have taken charge of the find and it will be examined by art experts
A Gustav Klimt masterpiece that was stolen in 1997 may have been found hidden in the wall of the Italian gallery from where it was snatched, officials have revealed.
The painting – believed to be ‘Portrait of a Lady’ – was discovered by workers after they cleared ivy from the outside wall of the Ricci Oddi gallery in the northern city of Piacenza and came across a small trap door.
Inside the door was a plastic rubbish bag that contained the artwork – which could be a masterpiece completed by the Austrian artist in 1917.
Police took charge of the find after its discovery and art experts will now examine it to check its authenticity.
Italian police stand next to what they say is a masterpiece by Gustav Klimt that was stolen in 1997 and found hidden in an outside wall of an Italian gallery, in Piazcenza
Jonathan Papamarengh, head of culture in Piacenza town council, described the unexpected find as ‘incredible’.
After the artwork vanished in February 1997, police believed thieves had used a fishing line to hook the masterpiece off the wall and haul it up through an open skylight to the gallery roof. It was here, officials said, that the frame was discarded.
The painting was discovered by workers after they cleared ivy from the outside wall of the Ricci Oddi gallery (pictured) and came across a trap door
A skilled forgery of Klimt’s painting, wrapped up and posted to a disgraced politician, was seized by authorities a month later, adding to the mystery.
Papamarengh said it was hard to believe that the original had been hidden in the gallery wall ever since its disappearance, saying the building had been carefully searched after the theft.
Police took charge of the find after its discovery and art experts will now examine it to check its authenticity
‘The painting’s condition is excellent. It seems strange to believe it has been tucked away in a wall, close to the ground and vegetation for 22 years,’ he added.
Papamarengh said the Klimt was second on the list of most valuable art missing in Italy, just behind a painting by Caravaggio stolen from a church in Sicily in 1969.
The Klimt is considered particularly important because shortly before its disappearance, an art student realised it was painted over another work previously believed lost.
This was a portrait of a young lady that had not been seen since 1912 – making it the only ‘double’ Klimt known to the art world.