French government returns Nazi-looted painting to Jewish heirs

The French Ministry of Culture returned a 17th-century painting to the heirs of Gabrielle Philippson during a ceremony in Paris.

The artwork, titled "Portrait de femme en bleu" (Portrait of a Woman in Blue), was created by the Flemish painter Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen. Nazi forces seized the painting from the family's home in Paris in 1942, shortly after the death of Gabrielle Philippson. Hermann Göring, a high-ranking Nazi official, took the piece for his personal collection.

Soldiers found the painting in Berchtesgaden after World War II, where it remained with the rest of Göring's belongings. The painting remained missing for decades while the Philippson children successfully recovered other stolen items from their family home. Authorities finally located the painting in 2023 at the Massey Museum in the town of Tarbes. The museum had purchased the piece in 1985.

The town of Tarbes and the Philippson family reached an agreement to keep the painting in the museum in exchange for new acquisitions for the family valued at the current price of the artwork. French Culture Minister Catherine Pégard stated that the return highlights how looted works often end up in public collections without their origins being understood. A new French framework law passed on July 22, 2023, now facilitates the return of looted works from public collections.

Previously, these items were often considered inalienable. Pégard noted that Nazis systematically looted approximately 38,000 apartments belonging to Jewish residents in France who had fled or were arrested.