A museum in the Dutch city of Groningen has once again exhibited the painting "Spring Garden" by world-famous artist Vincent Van Gogh, which was stolen six years ago.
This is reported by RTV Noord.
The painting was stolen on Van Goghʼs birthday, March 30, 2020, from the Singer Laren Museum in the Netherlands, which had been on loan from the Groningen Museum. The thief was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to eight years in prison. However, the paintings were not found with him.
Art detective Arthur Brand, who helped search for the painting, believed it was in the hands of the mafia. In 2023, an unknown informant returned the work, delivering it to the detectiveʼs home in an IKEA bag.
The painting was damaged during the theft, but the museum initially decided to display the work in this condition: in their opinion, it was interesting for guests to see it in this form.
In 2025, the painting was taken for restoration, during which not only the defects were removed, but also its original appearance was restored. As a result, the canvas was returned to the museum for the first time in many years without damage and as close to the original as possible.
The 1884 painting depicts a priestʼs spring garden in the Dutch city of Nuenen, where the artist was living at the time. Two years ago, experts discovered that the painting was originally intended to be a winter garden.
Author: Veronika Dovhanyuk
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