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Swiss museum offers reward for missing paintings

Kunsthaus Zurich, one of Switzerland's top art museums, is offering a 10,000 Swiss franc reward for information that could help it track down two missing paintings, police said Tuesday.

Swiss museum offers reward for missing paintings
Zurich's Kunsthaus is one of Switzerland's top art museums. Photo by ARND WIEGMANN / AFP

The museum has lost trace of two small artworks: one by Flemish painter Robert van den Hoecke and the other by Dutch Golden Age artist Dirck de Bray.

“Kunsthaus Zurich has been missing two valuable paintings since the end of December 2022. According to initial investigations by the Zurich cantonal police, a theft has taken place,” the force said in a statement.

“Kunsthaus Zurich is offering a reward of up to 10,000 Swiss francs for information that leads to the investigation of the crime or the recovery of
the paintings.”

Anyone with information on the perpetrators or the whereabouts of the paintings has been asked to contact the police.

The museum took down more than 700 works for cleaning and restoration after a fire broke out in August 2022.

But no trace of these two paintings could later be found, with police saying they were stolen between September 21st and December 22nd.

The two works are both painted on oak, framed and covered with glass.

They have been listed in the Art Loss Register, the world’s largest database of lost and stolen art. Established in London in 1990, the register currently lists more than 700,000 items.

With nearly 4,000 paintings and sculptures and 95,000 graphic works, Kunsthaus Zurich has one of the most important art collections in Switzerland, which ranges from the 13th century to the present day.

About 1,000 works are on permanent display.

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CRIME

Mystery persists as missing Swiss paintings reappear

One of the Switzerland's top art museums announced Sunday the return of two paintings that went missing last year, refusing to provide details in a case still under investigation.

Mystery persists as missing Swiss paintings reappear

Kunsthaus Zurich offered in June 2023 a reward of 10,000 Swiss francs ($11,100) for information that could help it track one painting by Flemish painter Robert van den Hoecke and another by the Dutch Golden Age artist Dirck de Bray.

The small paintings disappeared when the Kunsthaus took down more than 700 works for cleaning and restoration after a fire broke out in August 2022.

But no trace of the two paintings could later be found.

On Sunday, the museum said only that its restoration experts had confirmed both paintings were in “good condition”, with no indication of how or when they turned up.

Because of ongoing police inquiries, “no further information will be released for the time being,” the Kunsthaus said.

Museum officials had alerted the missing works to the Art Loss Register, the world’s largest database of lost and stolen pieces.

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