A 16th century painting on loan to a Florida museum was seized Friday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents because it is suspected of having been looted during World War II. The Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, Italy, had loaned Girolamo Romano’s 1538 painting, “Christ Carrying the Cross Dragged by a Rogue,” to the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science in Tallahassee in March as part of an exhibition of Baroque painting.
Once on display, descendants of a former owner, Giuseppe Gentili, identified the painting as one that had been looted by the collaborationist Vichy government in France and illegally sold at auction in 1941, after the Gentili family had been forced to flee the Nazis. The Pinacoteca acquired the painting in 1998.
The Gentili family and Italian officials have been negotiating over the status of the painting, which the Brogan kept for safekeeping after the rest of the Baroque exhibit closed in September. Chucha Barber, the Brogan’s chief executive, said the museum’s contract with the Pinacoteca had been extended to November 6th during the negotiations. But Ms. Barber said the family told her the negotiations had broken down.
On Friday, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, Pamela Marsh, filed a seizure complaint and supporting affidavit in court.
“Agents from homeland security surrounded the building this morning,” as the painting was loaded into a white vehicle and taken to an undisclosed location, Ms. Barber said.
In a statement, Ms. Marsh said that federal law prevents the painting from being returned until the ownership disputes are resolved: “Our interest is strictly to follow the law and safeguard this work until the courts determine rightful ownership.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that a French court of Appeals in 1999 forced the Louvre Museum to return five paintings that had been owned by Gentili to the family after they had been sold at auction.
John Morton, director of customs and enforcement said; “It’s never too late to right a wrong.”
Interesting story...