Argentine court orders return of Nazi-looted Ghislandi painting found in real estate listing
A federal court in Mar del Plata has approved a settlement to return an 18th-century painting looted by Nazis in 1940 to the heir of Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker.
Discovery on a property portal
The recovery of the 18th-century painting Portrait of a Lady began in August 2025, when investigative journalists at Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, following research by investigator Paul Post, spotted the artwork on an estate agent website. The oil canvas, attributed to Italian baroque master Giuseppe Ghislandi (also known as Fra Galgario), appeared in sales photographs hanging above a green sofa in a living room in the coastal city of Mar del Plata. The property belonged to Patricia Kadgien, daughter of Friedrich Gustav Kadgien, an SS officer and financial adviser to Hermann Göring who relocated to South America after the Second World War. When inquiries began, the listing was removed, and Kadgien claimed ignorance of the work. Police officers raided the residence to find the painting replaced by a large tapestry, though the canvas was surrendered to judicial authorities days later.
Looting of the Goudstikker collection
The painting formed part of a collection of over 1,000 artworks looted by Nazi authorities after the invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940. Prominent Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker fled Amsterdam aboard a cargo ship but died during the voyage after falling into the vessel hold. Top German officials, led by Göring, divided the gallery holdings through forced sales at minimal prices. Friedrich Kadgien subsequently transported looted assets, including artwork and diamonds, across the Atlantic. After the war, allied authorities recovered around 300 items from the collection in Germany, and the Dutch state transferred 202 paintings back to the Goudstikker family in 2006.
- Jacques Goudstikker dies while fleeing Amsterdam, and Nazi officials seize over 1,000 artworks from his collection
- The Dutch government returns 202 recovered artworks from the Goudstikker collection to Marei von Saher
- Dutch newspaper AD spots Portrait of a Lady in real estate photos for a Mar del Plata residence
- Argentine prosecutors charge Patricia Kadgien and Juan Carlos Cortegoso with concealment after seizing the canvas
- Judge Santiago Inchausti ratifies the agreement ordering the painting returned to Marei von Saher
Terms of the judicial settlement
On 4 September 2026, federal judge Santiago Inchausti ratified a judicial agreement in Mar del Plata between prosecutors and the Kadgien family. Kadgien and her husband, Juan Carlos Cortegoso, had been indicted for concealment and placed under house arrest in September 2025 after claiming ownership of the canvas. Under the settlement terms, the couple agreed to forfeit all property rights to the work and pay 4.8 million Argentine pesos (approximately $3,200) in donations to municipal hospitals across 24 months in exchange for the closure of criminal proceedings against them.
An order will be issued for the painting to be returned to the heir.
Exhibition and restitution process
The artwork is currently in the safekeeping of the Supreme Court of Argentina while legal representatives for Goudstikker daughter-in-law and sole heir, Marei von Saher, finalize the restitution procedure alongside her daughters Charlene and Chantal. Argentine judicial authorities noted that the case marks the first time a court in the country has ordered the return of Nazi-looted art. Von Saher plans to place the painting on temporary loan at the Holocaust Museum of Buenos Aires before shipping the work abroad, using the display to raise awareness about wartime cultural plunder.
