The director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence is urging Germany to return a Dutch masterpiece stolen by Nazi troops during World War II, dramatizing its absence by hanging a black and white photo of the work with the label sa国际传媒淪tolensa国际传媒� in three languages.

Eike Schmidt said in a New Yearsa国际传媒檚 appeal on Tuesday that the still-life sa国际传媒淰ase of Flowerssa国际传媒� by Dutch artist Jan van Huysum is in the hands of a German family who hasnsa国际传媒檛 returned it despite numerous appeals. Instead, intermediaries for the family have demanded payment for its return to Italy.

sa国际传媒淭he painting is already the inalienable property of the Italian State, and thus cannot be sa国际传媒榖ought,sa国际传媒漵a国际传媒� Schmidt said.

The oil painting had been hanging as part of the Pitti Palace collection in Florence from 1824 until the outbreak of World War II. It was moved for safety during the war but was stolen by retreating German troops. It didnsa国际传媒檛 surface again until Germanysa国际传媒檚 reunification in 1991, when the offers to sell it back to Italy began.

sa国际传媒淭his story is preventing the wounds inflicted by World War II and the horrors of Nazism from healing,sa国际传媒� said Schmidt, who is German. sa国际传媒淕ermany should not apply the statute of limitations to works of art stolen during the war, and it should take measures to ensure that those works are restored to their legitimate owners.sa国际传媒�

He called it Germanysa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渕oral dutysa国际传媒� to return to the artwork, adding, sa国际传媒淚 trust that the German government will do so at the earliest opportunity, naturally along with every other work of art stolen by the Nazi Wehrmacht.sa国际传媒�

The Associated Press

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