£100k painting taken by the Nazis shows up on TV

A rare painting taken by the Nazis has appeared on an 'Antiques Roadshow' type television show in Germany with a €100,000 price tag. 

The Sermon on the Mount (Paul in Lystra), painted by C17th Flemish artist Frans Francken the Younger appeared on the popular Kunst und Krempel (Art and Junk) TV show.

However, it seems this is the first outing for the painting since it was taken by the Nazis from a Jewish family.

The painting was not technically stolen, but sold, with the family receiving a receipt and the payment would not have been a fair reflection of the painting's worth. The receipt is now in the hands of the Police.

"An art expert saw the show, suspected it might be stolen and started doing research," Ludwig Waldinger of the Bavarian office of criminal investigation told Germany's The Local.

Six months later he had enough evidence to call the police in Munich in order to report the suspicions.

The original owners had bought the painting from a Dresden gallery, but what happened to it after 1945 when it was still in Munich, waiting to be transferred to the gallery in Hitler's hometown of Linz, is not known.

TV channel Bayerischer Rundfunk, who broadcast Art and Junk, has declined to reveal who submitted the painting to the show, citing their journalistic rights.

Depending on how they gained the painting, that person may face charges for the handling of stolen goods.

Collectors should always check the provenance of whatever they're buying, or buy from a reputable trader - though it's unusual that doing otherwise turns out to be criminal. 

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