French Museum Recovers 17Th-Century Painting Stolen By Nazis

(MENAFN- USA Art News) A 17th-century Dutch painting stolen from the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans in France during World War II has been located and is returning to the museum. The artwork, Un Buveur (The Drinker) by Willem Cornelisz Duyster, was found last month at a Swiss auction house, according to museum director Olivia Voisin, who spoke with ARTnews.

The recovery follows an inventive“Wanted” poster campaign launched by the Orléans museum to track down approximately 350 artworks plundered after the city was attacked by Nazis in June 1940. The campaign, which features“WANTED” in an American Old Western font on black-and-white images of lost artworks, is shared across social media, the museum's website, and other platforms, bolstered by a two-year-old digital catalog of the stolen pieces. Voisin noted that both sides of the conflict are believed to have looted the museum, particularly the Musée Paul Fourché annex.

A local resident from Orléans, inspired by the posters, discovered Un Buveur in an online catalog for an October 17 sale at Gloggner auction house in Lucerne. The work, estimated at about $3,400 and initially thought to be a study, depicts a seated man holding an empty glass. Upon being alerted, the museum contacted the auction house, which“was very transparent throughout” and cooperated immediately, Voisin said. After the painting's holder, who purchased it from a London auction house in the 1990s, was presented with digital evidence matching their painting to the original, they agreed to restitution.

The painting, currently held in customs at the French border, is considered one of Duyster's finest and represents a significant portion of the museum's stolen collection, which included several similar 17th-century Dutch revelry scenes. Despite appearing damaged by layers of overpainting and cleaning attempts, Voisin estimates its value at €25,000 to €30,000 ( $28,000 to $33,600 ) if in good condition. The museum has long sought to recover its World War II losses; 424 paintings remain missing, including works by Édouard Manet, Hans Holbein the Younger, Anthony van Dyck, Lorenzo Costa, and one attributed to Raphael's Renaissance workshop. Since the digital catalog and“Wanted” campaign began, four paintings, including Un Buveur, have been returned.

We previously reported:

Sotheby's will auction Vincent van Gogh's Châtaigniers en fleurs and Paul Cézanne's Arlequin, both from the Blaquier-Arrieta collection, on November 18.

Paris's Galerie de l'Institut is presenting a spotlight exhibition of French figurative painter Jean-Pierre Cassigneul, on view through November 24, 2026.

Source: ARTnews

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