Stolen Salvator Rosa Painting Found in Romania: Police Optimistic about Recovering Remaining Artworks
A stolen 17th Century painting worth around £10m from Oxford University's Christ Church Picture Gallery was found in Romania.
Three thieves had broken into the gallery in March 2020 and took the painting, along with two others, off the walls and escaped through the roof.
The recovered painting is by Salvator Rosa and police are optimistic they will find the remaining two artworks due to DNA evidence found on the recovered painting.
A Salvator Rosa painting, "A Rocky Coast, With Soldiers Studying a Plan," stolen along with two other artworks, was returned to authorities with the help of European law enforcement.
A man in possession of the painting contacted Romanian police after realizing it was stolen.
He is being treated as a witness.
The other two artworks, Sir Anthony van Dyck's "A Soldier on Horseback" and Annibale Carracci's "A Boy Drinking," remain missing.
Forensic evidence is being gathered from the Salvator Rosa painting to help identify the thieves.
The text discusses the ongoing search for two stolen paintings, with the current belief being that they are located in Europe.
DCI Mather expresses optimism about using DNA evidence from the paintings to aid in their recovery.
Christopher Marinello, an expert in art recovery, shares that stolen artworks often end up in Eastern Europe and are quickly moved out of their country of origin for sale.