Police in Argentina are pressing on with the search for a Nazi-looted painting that surfaced in an estate agent’s listing but was not found during a raid on a seaside property in Mar del Plata.
Federal prosecutor Carlos Martínez confirmed that the artpiece, the Portrait of a Lady by Italian master Giuseppe Ghislandi, was not inside the house. “The painting is not in the house … but we’re going to keep searching for it,” he told local media. Authorities seized two firearms along with engravings and prints, items they said could help the investigation.
Painting is missing from the living room
Investigators stated that the work, as seen hanging in the living room in the estate agency photograph, was no longer there. In its place was a large tapestry of a landscape and horses.
Marks on the wall suggested another painting had recently been removed. “Where we found a tapestry, not long ago, there was something else,” a police officer told the paper.
The portrait once belonged to a Jewish art dealer
The missing portrait once belonged to Jacques Goudstikker, a leading Jewish art dealer in Amsterdam who died in May 1940 while fleeing the Nazi invasion. His collection of more than 1,100 works, many of which were classified as old masters, was sold at a fraction of its value to Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring.
ART
Looted painting discovered in Argentina
More than 80 years after it was looted by the Nazis from a Jewish art dealer in Amsterdam, a portrait by an Italian master has been spotted on the website of an estate agent advertising a house for sale in Argentina.
It is accepted… pic.twitter.com/VHF2QdjvQ6
— Grouse Beater (@Grouse_Beater) August 26, 2025
This week, the Dutch newspaper AD reported that newly uncovered documents indicate the Ghislandi painting later came into the possession of Friedrich Kadgien, a senior Nazi official, SS member, and aide to Göring. The circumstances remain unclear.
Kadgien is believed to have taken the portrait with him when he fled the Netherlands in 1946, moving through Switzerland and Brazil before settling in Argentina. The painting is thought to have stayed with his family after he died in Buenos Aires in 1978.
Daughter of a Nazi official under investigation
Authorities said one of Kadgien’s daughters, who owns the Mar del Plata house, and her partner are under judicial investigation following complaints filed by federal police, Interpol, and Argentina’s customs agency.
The complaints were triggered by AD’s investigation, which included repeated but unsuccessful attempts to question Kadgien’s daughters about their father and the disputed artwork.
Estate agent listing removed after report
A reporter from AD later traveled to Argentina and discovered the house was for sale. On the estate agent’s website, the journalist spotted a photograph that appeared to show the missing portrait on display.
The agency, Robles Casas & Campos, has since removed the listing and confirmed the property is no longer for sale. AD also reported that Kadgien’s daughter had changed her social media username.
Possible prosecution if the painting is found
No charges have been filed so far. But if prosecutors prove the couple possessed the painting, they could face charges of concealing criminal property. Because the alleged offense dates to a time of war, no statute of limitations would apply.
