Pontevedra completes the return to Poland of the diptychs stolen by the Nazis

Two paintings stolen by the Nazis from Poland They returned to their house Goluchow Castle, where from this Friday they occupy a privileged position, as one of the rare works of art, out of half a million looted in the Second World War, which have returned to their original place of exhibition. He Minister of Culture Piotr Glinski emphasized the importance for this country of the return of the diptych from the studio of Bouts, a Flemish painter from the end of the 15th century, which four centuries later the princess from the Czartoryski family bought in Paris for her Polish castle, where the collection of paintings became over time one of the main ones in his the country.

The Minister of Culture emphasized the “exemplary” of the procedure that followed Pontevedra Provincial Council and Museum, whose managers and workers he emphasized his “professionalism” and “good will” when it comes to returning the pictures and not disturbing them. He admitted that this does not always happen in war booty claims, and Glinski hinted that he would put Pontevedra as one of those examples where international cooperation works when it comes to other countries or owners who are reluctant to return to Poland what the Nazis stole.

He Vice President of the Provincial Council, César Mosquera, in his speech, he gave three reasons why they agreed to return the paintings. On the one hand, he indicated it “for justice”, because the diptych was looted. He added: “Also for our own coherence because if we are in the process of restitution of our own historical memory, we had to cooperate in retaliation for that of other countries.”

reason for justice

He emphasized: “We had to restore them because we would not be at peace” knowing that in the funds of the Museum of the City of Lérez, a country could be deprived of two works that were taken from it by force. “It was easy, clear and plain to tell us to return the paintings and we are very proud and would do it again,” Mosquera concluded, pointing out that as soon as they found out the origin of the diptych as war booty, they could see it “every day”. and he and Provincial President Carmela Silva, because the people in charge at the Provincial Museum decided to return quickly and smoothly.

He director of the Pontevedra Museum, José Manuel Rey, also explained in the same way, stating that the delivery of the diptych to Poland was “just and proper”. Rey also mentioned the acquisition of two works, as part of the legacy of J.ose Fernandez Lopez, benefactor of the Pontevedra institution, which he bought two flamenco tables in Madrid in 1973ignoring both the Galician collector and the Museum that it was looted art.

“We cannot stand aside when we talk about an act that leaves your country as a result of war looting,” he said, while advocating this return as a way of “engaging in pedagogy and turning a problem into an opportunity.” Namely, both the Polish and Spanish representatives expressed their desire for goodwill and the intention of cultural cooperation in the future.

In his speech, Spanish Ambassador to Poland, Ramiro Fernández, He thanked the cooperation of the two countries and praised the “extraordinary generosity” and “speed” with which they acted both from the Pontevedra Museum and from the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of Spain, which confirmed all the steps taken in Galicia by the institution to return the Bouts diptych to Goluchow.

He image finder, Mariusz Wisniewski, emphasized that both Ecce Homo and La Dolorosa were items that were part of a priority search for art looted by the Nazis. In 2019, an image search on the Internet began and this gave a clue, as a result of a photograph identified by the program on the website of the Museo de Pontevedra, which served as the thread from which the ball was pulled that led to the happy ending of the case.