Madonna & Child by Antonio Solario
Back in March, I wrote about how a woman in Britain refused to give up her Renaissance-era Madonna & Child painting, which investigators concluded had been stolen fifty years ago. However, the standoff has now come to an end, and she has willingly returned the work.
Madonna & Child by Antonio Solario was stolen in 1973 from the Belluno Civic Museum in northern Italy. While it was not the only work of art stolen from the museum, for decades it remained one of the few works that had not been recovered. It has only been in the last several years that investigators were able to narrow down the Solario’s location. They tracked it down to East Barsham Manor, an old English country house in Norfolk about an hour northwest of the city of Norwich. The home is owned by Barbara de Dozsa, whose husband had bought the painting shortly after its theft. After her husband died in 2017, she tried to consign it to a nearby auction house, which caught the attention of the relevant authorities. When prompted, De Dozsa refused to surrender the painting, stating that her husband had purchased it in good faith. While not exactly the best response from a moral or ethical standpoint, this is a perfectly serviceable legal defense. Under British law, you become the legitimate owner of a stolen work of art if you bought it in good faith and have been in possession of it for at least six years. However, De Dozsa’s defensiveness was somewhat confusing for many. She previously confessed that she does not display the Solario on the walls of her house and that she doesn’t even like the painting. Furthermore, there would be no benefit in holding onto it. Art lawyer Christopher Marinello acted as an intermediary in an attempt to persuade her to surrender the painting voluntarily. He commented, “While the UK Limitations Act certainly supported her position, the fact that the Solario was listed on the Interpol and Carabinieri stolen art databases meant that the painting could never be sold, exhibited, or even transported without the risk of being seized.” But now, after several years, De Dozsa is returning the painting to the Belluno Museum.
Marinello said that her decision “has restored my faith in humanity when so many possessors today of stolen artwork try to hold on to it. Despite the rights of the victim, people have no sympathy any more and she has proven otherwise.” The art division of the insurance company Generali agreed to cover the cost of packing and shipping the painting back to Italy, a decision that likely influenced De Dozsa’s choice. The Solario was turned over to the Italian embassy in London and arrived in Belluno on Monday. The museum will exhibit the work to the public until July 27th, displaying it alongside two other Madonna & Child paintings. Both are by the Renaissance painter Bartolomeo Montagna, and were both also stolen in the 1973 heist. The Solario will then undergo extensive restoration before being permanently returned to the museum’s collection.