“The Indiana Jones of the art world” strikes again: he recovers historical paintings

Arthur Brand made headlines around the world last month when he found a stolen Van Gogh stuffed in an Ikea bag, and believes the widely publicized success is leading him to more discoveries.

The six paintings found had been stolen from the town hall of Medemblik, in the north of the country, last month. Even if their monetary value is not enormous - around 100,000 euros - the works have a certain historical importance. One of these represents the oldest known portrait of Radboud, king of the Frisians from 680 AD.

The detective, nicknamed "the Indiana Jones of the art world" was quietly watching a football game Friday night when the doorbell rang and a man in a van asked him to help unload goods. “I asked him, ‘What are we going to unload?’. He replied with a smile: ''well, the Medemblik paintings,''' says Arthur Brand. After the burglary in September, the latter was widely quoted in the Dutch press, saying that the criminals should have stolen six bicycles, which were much easier to resell.

These comments, as well as the publicity surrounding the recovery of the Van Gogh, likely led the thieves to simply return the paintings. “In some cases they burn them, just to get rid of the evidence, because they find they can't sell it,” he told AFP. Before adding: “So I’m very grateful that they decided to do the right thing. Stealing is bad, but if you give it back, at least you’re doing something right.”

Arthur Brand hopes that this momentum will also lead to the recovery of another missing masterpiece: Two Laughing Boys, a Frans Hals stolen in 2020. He also plans to find traces of paintings stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston: paintings by Vermeer, Manet and Rembrandt, together worth nearly $500 million.

The Medemblik authorities had promised a reward of 10,000 euros for the return of the paintings, but this sum was not claimed. The detective said he would not ask for the money. “I told them to give me a good book,” he joked.