Marc Chagall’s (1887-1985) Le Nu au Bouquet, which was stolen in 2002 from a yacht moored in Italy, has been recovered in a private collector’s home. The robbery occurred while the boat, which came from the United States, was being repaired in northern Italy’s port of Savona. The thieves replaced the painting with a forgery.
Following the death of the yacht owner, his heir traveled to Italy to recover the boat and its contents, ultimately discovering that the Chagall painting had been replaced by a fake. The heir alerted the Italian police, but news about the painting didn’t surface until 2012 during an investigation into Bologna’s stolen art trade. Investigators were able to trace Le Nu au Bouquet to an art collector from Turin who had purchased the work, which came with an official authentication, in 2003.
Italy’s art theft division is currently investigating three suspects – two Romanians who were working on the yacht at the time of the theft and a gallery owner from Bologna. The Chagall painting is believed to be worth in excess of $1.3 million.
