A painting by Jacob Jordaens, The Return of the Holy Family from the Flight into Egypt, was returned to the descendants of its original owners on Wednesday during a ceremony at the Dossin Barracks in Mechelen.
The artwork had been stolen by Nazis in 1940 from Emmaus Castle in Walem near Mechelen, the home of resistance fighter Joseph Scheppers de Bergstein, who was imprisoned in Buchenwald. After the war, his son reported the theft, which resulted in the painting being listed in the lootedart.belgium.be database. This case marks the first successful restitution of an artwork identified through the database since it was launched by the Belgian Federal Public Service in 2021.
Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), The Return of the Holy Family from the Flight into Egypt (after restoration), private collection, Belgium (photo from FPS Economy)
In 2022, the panel was discovered concealed in a false ceiling in the cellar of a Dutchman living in Southern France. He had long suspected the painting was stolen and had previously shared his concerns with his nephew. Upon the man’s death, his sister inherited the property, including the artwork, and her son subsequently initiated the process of returning it to its rightful owners.
A Dutch art dealer helped identify the picture as a Jordaens and discovered that it was listed as stolen. After contacting the rightful heirs, the painting was carefully restored and returned to the Scheppers de Bergstein family nearly 80 years to the day after its theft.
The painting portrays Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returning to Israel. Two other versions of the artwork are known: one in the Berlin State Museum and the other in the Rhode Island School of Design Museum in the US.