A Dutch art detective known as the “Indiana Jones of the art world” has recovered a further six paintings, including a portrait of William of Orange and the first depiction of a 7th-century king.
Arthur Brand, who made headlines around the world last month when he recovered a stolen Van Gogh stuffed in an Ikea bag, believes his widely publicised success has led to further discoveries.
Thieves made off with six paintings from the town hall of Medemblik, in the north of the country, last month.
While the monetary value of the haul is not huge – about €100,000 (£87,000) – the paintings are considered of great historical significance. They include the earliest known portrait of Radbod, the king of the Frisians from AD680.
Brand said he had been sitting at home on Friday night watching football when the doorbell rang and a man in a van asked him for help to unload some merchandise. “I asked him, ‘What are we going to unload?’. He said with a smile, ‘Well, the paintings of Medemblik’,.”
After the initial burglary in September, Brand had been widely quoted in the Dutch press as saying the thieves should have stolen six bikes, as these would be easier to resell.
Those comments, plus the publicity surrounding the Van Gogh recovery, probably led the thieves to simply hand the paintings back, Brand said.
“In some cases, they burn them, just to get rid of the evidence because they find out they cannot sell them,” he added. “So I’m very thankful that they decided to do the right thing. Stealing is wrong, but if you return it, at least you do something right.”
Brand hopes the momentum from the Van Gogh will lead to another prize recovery – a masterpiece by Frans Hals called Two Laughing Boys.
He also has his eye on recovering work from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, where paintings worth an estimated $500m from the likes of Vermeer, Manet, and Rembrandt were stolen in 1990.
The authorities in Medemblik had offered a reward of €10,000 for the safe return of the paintings but this was unclaimed.
Brand said he would not be collecting the cash. “I told them to give me a good book voucher,” he joked.
