Ukrainian border guards helped find a painting that was stolen in the Netherlands almost 20 years ago

Author:
Oleksandra Opanasenko
Date:

Border guards of the Zhytomyr detachment helped to find the painting "Eliezer and Rebecca at the Well" (1629) by the Dutch artist Jan Linsen. In January 2005, it was stolen from the Westfries Museum in the Netherlands.

This was reported by the State Border Service of Ukraine (SBSU).

Ukrainian border guards received information that a citizen of Ukraine, who left for Poland, is looking for buyers for a valuable painting by Linsen. Buyers were also sought in Ukraine.

A painting by Jan Linsen "Eliezer and Rebecca at the Well" dated 1629 was found.

The painting "Eliezer and Rebecca at the Well" was searched by Interpol for almost 20 years. Then, together with it, another 24 canvases and 70 silver exhibits disappeared from the Westfries Museum. Many of them are still considered missing.

In the end, border guards received evidence that the man wanted to sell Linsenʼs stolen painting. Together with their Polish colleagues and representatives from the Netherlands, they seized the painting, and the Ukrainian who wanted to sell it was taken into custody for three months in Poland.