A 16th-century Madonna and Child painting that ended up with a woman in Norfolk after it was stolen from a museum in Italy half a century ago is to be returned to its rightful owner.
After years of soul-searching, and persuading by an art lawyer who was acting pro bono, Barbara de Dozsa decided to hand it over to the Civic Museum of Belluno, which last saw the painting in 1973.
As the Guardian reported in March, she had refused to return the artwork, even though it is on the most-wanted lists of various police forces, including Interpol and the Italian Carabinieri.
She had argued ownership, partly because her former husband, the late Baron de Dozsa, bought it in good faith in 1973, soon after the robbery.
Until their divorce, it was in their 16th-century Norfolk home, East Barsham manor near Fakenham, described by Henry VIII as his “small country palace”.
It was painted by the Italian artist, Antonio Solario, known as Lo Zingaro (the Gypsy), some of whose other paintings are in the National Gallery in London.
Acquired by Belluno in 1872, it was among several works that were stolen a century later. Some were recovered soon afterwards in Austria, where De Dozsa’s husband bought the Solario painting from an unnamed source.
Its whereabouts was unknown until 2017, when De Dozsa tried to sell it through a regional auction house, and it was spotted by someone linked to the Belluno museum.
Christopher Marinello, a leading specialist art lawyer, said: ‘When it comes to returning stolen art … I can be annoyingly persistent.’ Photograph: Apple Photos Clean Up
The painting was handed back to De Dozsa in 2020 as delays caused by the Covid lockdown led to the Italian authorities being unable to supply relevant documents requested by the British police.
Over the years, Christopher Marinello, a leading specialist art lawyer, had tried repeatedly to persuade her to do “the right thing” and return it to Belluno. He handled the recovery negotiations on a pro-bono basis because he wanted to help the town in the Veneto region of northern Italy, from where his family originated.
De Dozsa initially cited the UK Limitations Act of 1980, which states that a person who buys stolen goods can be recognised as the legal owner if the purchase was unconnected to the theft after more than six years.
Marinello dismissed that argument as “nonsense”. He said: “While the UK 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.”
He is the founder of Art Recovery International, which focuses on stolen or looted art and is based in London, Venice and New York. His previous recoveries include a Matisse painting that was stolen in 1987 from Stockholm’s Museum of Modern Art and had disappeared without trace for 25 years until it surfaced in London.
De Dozsa eventually agreed to release the painting unconditionally to Belluno.
Marinello said: “She has restored my faith in humanity when so many possessors today of stolen artwork try to hold on to it. Despite the rights of the victim, people have no sympathy any more and she has proven otherwise.”
He joked: “When it comes to returning stolen art and doing the right thing, I can be annoyingly persistent. But ultimately, it was Barbara de Dozsa’s decision to make, and she chose wisely.”
He paid tribute to Arte Generali, the art insurance company that made the recovery possible with a donation to cover the logistical costs, although it was unconnected with this case. “Without their support, this recovery would never have happened,” Marinello said.
Another Madonna and Child, by the 19th-century Italian artist Placido Fabris, is among other stolen paintings missing from Belluno. They are listed on the Carabinieri stolen art database.
Marinello is calling for the public to contact him if they spot any of them in private or public collections: “The Solario made it to the UK, why not these?”
Oscar De Pellegrin, the mayor of Belluno, said: “Returning this painting to the city means giving back a fragment of its identity, its history and its soul.”
De Dozsa declined to comment.