That recovered 'Van Dyck'
March 21 2012
Picture: Telegraph
On Monday, I mentioned Poussin scholar Dr David Packwood's response to the 'Poussin' recovered in Rome by Italian police, one of 37 old masters stolen way back in 1971. Now, David has also highlighted a better illustration of the 'Van Dyck' that was also recovered in the Telegraph. As you can see from the horse's head, it ain't by Van Dyck. The 'Rubens', also illustrated in the Telegraph, is manifestly not by Rubens.
The story, which was covered around the world, presents us with an interesting insight into art historical reporting by the press, and the assessment of art by law enforcement authorities. It looks like this '£6m' cache of old masters is really a collection of pastiches and later copies, worth hardly anything. One wonders how the story ever had legs in the first place. It seems from the reporting that it stemmed from an official press release by the Italian police, and with backing from experts at Italy's Ministry of Culture. So one can hardly blame the press for running with it. Was this just a PR exercise by the Italian police, who found the pictures after they were consigned to an auction house in Rome? If so, it certainly worked, for Colonel Raffaelle Mancino of the carabinieri was able to get his message across:
'This shows we won't give up, even after 41 years.'
Incidentally, I wonder if the original owners got an inusrance payout after the theft, based on attributions to Rubens and Van Dyck. If they did, I doubt they'll want the paintings back!
