Van Gogh paintings stolen from Amsterdam museum by ‘Napoli mafia’ 14 years ago recovered by police

Anti-mafia police investigating the Camorra gang in Italy have recovered two “priceless” Vincent Van Gogh paintings that were stolen from  Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum in 2002.

The Dutch artist’s famous paintings were found during a large-scale operation in Naples and appeared largely undamaged despite being removed from their frames, the Van Gogh Museum confirmed.

Police in Naples said the paintings of “priceless value” – Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen and View of the Sea at Scheveningen – were discovered during a raid as part of a crackdown against the Naples-based crime clan.

Assets worth tens of millions of euros were seized from a Camorra group involved in international cocaine trafficking, Italian authorities said.

It was not known where the paintings were kept after the theft, but it is assumed they were not preserved under suitable conditions.

Museum officials had almost lost all hope the paintings – once valued at $30m – would be returned.

It was not clear when they will be returned to the museum, which opened in 1973 and has the largest Van Gogh collection in the world.

In a statement, the museum said the stolen paintings were recovered during a massive investigation commissioned by the Italian Public Prosecutions Department and conducted by a specialised Guardia di Finanza team which probes organised crime.

The museum added: “The curator who inspected the authenticity and provenance of the works at the request of the Italian Public Prosecutions Department drew a firm conclusion: ‘they are the real paintings!’

“Despite a 14-year journey, the two paintings appear to be in fairly good condition. Both lack their frames and show signs of some damage.”

The thieves struck overnight when they raided the museum in December 2002, using a ladder to break in through its roof.

The paintings were stolen from the main exhibition hall despite a number of security measures, including infrared technology, and the suspects escaped by sliding down a rope.

Two Dutch men were convicted of theft and sentenced to four years in jail, but the arrests – thanks in part to DNA evidence recovered at the scene – failed to return the paintings.

The heist was listed among the FBI’s top ten art crimes in 2005.

Axel Rüger, director of the Van Gogh Museum, said: “After all those years you no longer dare to count on a possible return.

“We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Italian Public Prosecutions Department, the members of the Guardia di Finanza investigation team, the Italian police, the Dutch Public Prosecutions Department, the liaison officers of the Dutch Public Prosecutions Department in Rome and everyone else involved.

“The paintings have been found. That I would be able to ever pronounce these words is something I had no longer dared to hope for.

“It is not yet certain when the works will come back to Amsterdam. But I fully believe that we can, once more, count on the unconditional support of the Italian authorities.”

In terms of damage the paint in the bottom left corner of View of the Sea at Scheveningen has broken away on a surface of circa five by two centimetres, said museum officials.

Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen looks undamaged at first sight apart from a few minor damages at the edges of the canvas.

A conservator will examine both to establish the exact condition of the paintings.

Mr Rüger added: “It is really a major step that the paintings have been found. We have been waiting for this moment for 14 years.

“And naturally the only thing you want is to take them straight home with you. But we will have to exercise a little bit more patience, but I am convinced that we can count on the support of the Italian authorities.”

The stolen works are both from relatively early in Van Gogh’s career.

View of the Sea at Scheveningen is from 1882 and is the only painting in the museum’s collection from Van Gogh’s time in The Hague.

It is one of the only two seascapes that he painted in the Netherlands and is regarded as a striking example of his early style of painting.

Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen is a small canvas that Van Gogh painted for his mother in 1884.

It depicts the church of the Reformed Church community in the Brabant village of Nuenen, where the artist’s father was minister.

Churchgoers were added when the painting was reworked in 1885 following his father’s death.

It includes a few women in shawls worn in times of mourning – a possible reference to his father’s death, said museum officials.

Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen was the only painting in the museum’s collection still in its original stretcher frame, which had splashes of paint.