Antonio Solario, also known as Antonio de Solario, or by the nickname Lo Zingaro (“The Gypsy”), was an Italian Renaissance painter active in Venice and other parts of Italy in the early 1500s. He left behind some masterpieces including a series of frescoes depicting the life of St. Benedict, currently preserved in the former cloister of Santi Severino e Sossio in Naples, and the Withypool Altarpiece, whose lateral wings, depicting St. Ursula and St. Catherine, are preserved at the National Gallery in London.
He also completed a “Madonna and the Child” depicting a pensive Madonna with the Christ Child sitting against a background reminiscent of that of Leonardo’s "Virgin of the Rocks."
Until 50 years ago, this painting, a tempera on wood, was kept in the Civic Museum of Belluno, Italy, located about 63 miles from Venice. Then, in 1973, the canvas was stolen along with some other artworks and ended up on the international list of stolen artworks, the Interpol stolen art database.
A few months ago, the long-lost Renaissance artwork resurfaced at an art sale in the UK, where Barbara de Dozsa had put it up for auction after inheriting it from her deceased husband. De Dozsa’s husband had acquired the painting in good faith from an art dealer in Austria in 1973 and had no idea about its origins. So when his widow put the artwork up at an auction she was surprised to hear that the painting was in the “wanted’ list of both Italian authorities, the Carabinieri, and Interpol.
At the beginning, De Dozsa claimed a UK law that allows the owner of a stolen artwork to keep it if the purchase was unconnected to the thefts after more than six years. Then, after the intervention of Christopher A. Marinello, art lawyer and founder of Art Recovery International (“ARI”), a UK organization specialized in recovering stolen, looted, and missing works of art, she had a change of heart.
“While the U.K. Limitations Act certainly supported her position, the fact that the painting was listed on the Interpol and Carabinieri stolen art databases meant that the painting could never be sold, exhibited, or even transported without the risk of being seized,” Marinello said in a press release. “When it comes to returning stolen art and doing the right thing, I can be annoyingly persistent.”
Initially, DeDozsa did not collaborate with Marinello. But, after some soul-searching, she understood that returning the painting was the right thing to do.
“Ultimately, it was Barbara de Dozsa’s decision to make, and she chose wisely,” Marinello said. “Her kindness has restored my faith in people who unknowingly come into possession of stolen or looted works of art.”
After DeDozsa’s decision, a crowd of Belluno’s officials and museum employees gathered at a very emotional ceremony to witness the return of the artwork.
“Returning this painting to the city means giving back a fragment of its identity, its history and its soul,” said Oscar De Pellegrin, mayor of Belluno. The “Madonna with Child” is now officially on display at Belluno’s Civic Museum, in Belluno, Italy.
