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Jan van Huysum's 'Flower Vase' painting, stolen by Nazi soldier, returns to Italy

A Nazi soldier had stolen the painting to gift it to his wife.

By PTI |
Agencies
The 'Vase of Flowers' painting by Jan van Huysum.
FLORENCE (ITALY): A Dutch still-life painting, stolen by a retreating Nazi soldier as a present for his wife, has been returned by Germany to a Florence museum.

The foreign ministers of German and Italy were on hand Friday in the Palazzo Pitti, a Renaissance palace that is part of the Uffizi Galleries, for the unveiling from behind crimson drapes of "Flower Vase," a masterpiece by Jan van Huysum, famed for his exquisitely detailed paintings depicting flowers.

Uffizi director German Eike Schmidt earlier this year urged his native country to return the work, at one point publishing images of the painting with the label "wanted" to dramatise his appeal.


Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero hailed the "civic and moral courage of a German director of an Italian museum" in pursuing the painting's return.

Monumental Losses: When Fire, Seflies And Untied Shoelaces Ruined Famous Artefacts
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A fire at Brazil’s 200-year-old National Museum destroyed artefacts worth over $20 million.

Here are other tragedies that wiped out pieces of history:

(Text: Aarti Bhanushali)
(Image: AP)
A fire at Brazil’s 200-year-old National Museum destroyed artefacts worth over $20 million. Here are other tragedies that wiped out pieces of history: (Text: Aarti Bhanushali) (Image: AP)
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York

In 1958, an accident involving a group of electricians working at MoMA led to a massive fire, which ended in tragedy. Reports claimed a spark from one of the workmen’s cigarettes landed on some sawdust, which quickly went up in flames, thus igniting a massive fire. Apart from the human toll, the blaze also damaged works of art including an 18.5-foot Monet titled ‘Water Lilies’, were charred.

(Image: www.moma.org)
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York In 1958, an accident involving a group of electricians working at MoMA led to a massive fire, which ended in tragedy. Reports claimed a spark from one of the w..
Read More
Louvre Museum, Paris

The home to the emblematic portrait of ‘Mona Lisa’ was threatened by nature’s wrath when rising waters from the Seine River and heavy storms caused the authorities to shut the museum in 2017. Torrential rain caused water to leak into the Louvre’s Islamic Art and Eastern Mediterranean galleries. According to the museum, two of Poussin’s 17th century Four Seasons painting series, ‘Spring and Autumn’ (top pic, left & right), and De Troy’s 1736 ‘Triumph of Mordecai’ (bottom pic), were damaged and had to be removed from the galleries.

(Image: www.metmuseum.org & www.louvre.fr)
Louvre Museum, Paris The home to the emblematic portrait of ‘Mona Lisa’ was threatened by nature’s wrath when rising waters from the Seine River and heavy storms caused the authorities to shut the ..
Read More
Norcia, Italy

Around the town of Norica, Italy, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit the area in 2016. The painting, ‘The Forgiveness of Assisi,’ by French artist Jean L’ Homme, painted in 1631, was kept in Santo Stefano church. Due to the church’s proximity to the earthquake, the church was destroyed. Thieves who stole the painting ignored the risk of the church collapsing on them when they cut the painting from its frame.

(Image: AP)
Norcia, Italy Around the town of Norica, Italy, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit the area in 2016. The painting, ‘The Forgiveness of Assisi,’ by French artist Jean L’ Homme, painted in 1631, was kept ..
Read More
Milan Art Museum

Things quickly went south for an Italian student looking for a photo-op. The enthusiastic lad broke an early 19th-century statue by hopping in its lap to snap some selfies. Titled ‘The Drunken Satyr’, the work fortunately was a copy of an ancient Greek sculpture.

(Image: Glyptothek, Munich & Nicola Vaglia/Corriere della Sera)
Milan Art Museum Things quickly went south for an Italian student looking for a photo-op. The enthusiastic lad broke an early 19th-century statue by hopping in its lap to snap some selfies. Titled ‘..
Read More
Fitzwilliam Museum, England

The cardinal rule for entering any space with priceless art: tie your shoelaces. In 2006, Nick Flynn, a visitor to the Fitzwilliam Museum, accidentally tripped on his untied shoelace. The only thing that broke his fall were three 17th century Chinese Qing Dynasty vases worth 500,00 pounds. While Flynn escaped unhurt, the vases were not so lucky. They shattered into 400 pieces and Flynn was reportedly banned from the museum.

(Image: www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk)
Fitzwilliam Museum, England The cardinal rule for entering any space with priceless art: tie your shoelaces. In 2006, Nick Flynn, a visitor to the Fitzwilliam Museum, accidentally tripped on his un..
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Flower Vase painting |Jan Van Huysum |palazzo pitti |Art museum |Florence |Nazi soldier

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