Painting stolen from Oxford recovered in Romania

6 months ago 17

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Salvator Rosa, 'A Rocky Coast, with Soldiers Studying a Plan,' late 1640s.

A 17th Century painting that was stolen from an Oxford university art gallery more than four years ago has been recovered in Romania.

Salvator Rosa's A Rocky Coast, with Soldiers Studying a Plan was taken from Christ Church Picture Gallery in 2020.

Two other artworks snatched in the same raid - Sir Anthony van Dyck's A Soldier on Horseback and A Boy Drinking by Annibale Carracci - are still missing.

The three works are thought to be worth a total of £10m.

Image source, Christ Church Picture Gallery

Image caption,

A Soldier On Horseback by Anthony Van Dyck was painted in about 1616

Romanian police were contacted by a man in possession of the Rosa painting, who had sold on the other two artworks in the country.

Van Dyck's masterpiece dates to about 1616 and Caracci's dates to 1580.

Both had been displayed in the gallery for 252 years before they were stolen.

The man chose to return the Rosa painting, which dates to the late 1640s, to the authorities and has been treated as a witness. He has not been arrested.

It was recovered by Thames Valley Police and the gallery's curator, Jacqueline Thalmann, in Bucharest last month.

Image source, Christ Church Picture Gallery

Image caption,

Annibale Carracci completed A Boy Drinking in about 1580

She said: "The missing paintings have been on public view since 1768, so it's vital that we recover them so they can be enjoyed and studied by all once more.

"Not only do the paintings form a significant part of our collection but their significance to our British and European culture is inestimable."

Ms Thalmann added: "[Getting the first picture back] is a very good sign. It was pleasing to see that it was in good condition.

"After four years being away and being dragged through the [Christ Church] Meadow and then Europe, it's back and it has hardly any loss. It's still in good nick."

Image caption,

Jacqueline Thalmann said the recovered painting was found in a good condition

Thames Valley Police's Det Ch Insp James Mather said officers were working with Eurojust and Europol to gather further intelligence, including forensic analysis, into where the other two artworks were.

He said officers had a "significant forensic harvest" from the recovered painting, which now needs to be analysed.

But he said he was "optimistic" it could provide police with some lines of inquiry.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the missing artworks are asked to contact police.

Image caption,

Det Ch Insp James Mather said police were hopeful of gathering evidence from the recovered painting

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