Stolen 18Th-Century Painting Of St. Francis Returned To A Mexican Church

Stolen 18Th-Century Painting Of St. Francis Returned To A Mexican Church

7 years ago, a Mexican fine art auctioneer submitted their upcoming auction catalogue to a database of stolen art as part of a due diligence process that’s pretty standard in the industry.

Analysts flipped through the pages of paintings and portraits, clearing each one in turn, before coming to a 6-foot-tall work of Saint Francis of Assisi, dating to the 18th century.

According to Art Loss Register, such a painting had been reported stolen more than 15 years earlier from a church consecrated in the name of the saint some 25 miles northeast of Mexico City, in Teotihuacan.

The consignor had information linking the painting to Texas, but it was falsified, and after a few years of double and triple checking, Padre Teodoro García Romero of the San Francisco de Asis church beamed a 6-figure smile as he welcomed the 5-figure artwork back to its rightful place in the church.

A nighttime burglary on January 6th, 2001, saw the Saint’s painting lifted along with 7 works in-miniature that adorned the altar piece which remain, along with the thieves, at large.

“The recovery of our painting is of inexplicable significance to the faith of local people and restores part of the Teotihuacan community’s history,” said Father Romero. “For two decades we feared this treasure might be lost forever. Its return is a moment of excitement and faith for our church and city because we know that this will be a historic moment in the life of the community.”

Painted by an unknown artist in the 18th century, Francis is depicted holding a skull and a crucifix, while a small figure, likely the patron of the work, kneels in comparative unimportance to the lamb alongside the saint.

It was set to go under the hammer at $15,000.

“With thefts targeting public institutions and churches on the rise, this recovery offers hope not only to individual victims but to whole communities as well,” said Charlotte Chambers-Farah, business development and client manager at the Art Loss Register.

MORE LOST WORKS RETURNING HOME: 

• Lost Painting Looted by Nazis Found Hanging on Wall in a Real Estate Listing
• Klimt Painting of an African Prince Lost for Nearly 100 Years Goes on Show in Austria
• A Forgotten Masterpiece Was Hanging Above a French Woman’s Hot Plate–Now, it’s Heading to the Louvre

“Morton Subastas should also be applauded for their high level of due diligence standards, which led to the painting’s identification by the Art Loss Register, and their generosity in assisting in its return.”

Art Loss Register was featured on GNN recently, as a painting belonging to the Polish government, stolen during or just after World War II, recently surfaced at an auction in Denmark. Art Loss Register allowed the Polish culture authorities to present evidence that the painting had been stolen more than 70 years prior, and the owners agreed to turn it over, having no knowledge of its provenance themselves.