Norwegian Police Recover Stolen Cranach Painting and Detain Suspect

Image of the painting made by German painter Lucas Cranach (1472-1553), which was stolen yesterday from the Larvik church, in the south of Norway, where it had been housed since 1677. Photo: EFE

OSLO.- Police in Norway recovered Lucas Cranach the Elder´s 16th century painting which had been stolen on Sunday from a church in Larvik, south of Oslo.

One man was held in custody and is suspected of stealing the painting which according to experts is worth $2 million to $3 million.

Police inspector Magnar Pedersen told NRK television news the painting appeared to be undamaged except for the frame, but experts had not yet examined it.

Police arrested a man who is in his 50s and found the painting hidden in a truck in a neighboring county, but they declined to give further details. Pedersen said more arrests could be made.

Suffer the Little Children to Come unto Me” had been hanging at the Larvik church in southern part of the country for the past 330 years. The painting shows Christ in a blue robe holding two children in his lap and surrounded by several women with small children and a few men.

The heist was noticed by firefighters who responded to an alarm that went off at the church at 1:30 am on Sunday. After they got to the church they found a broken window and a ladder outside.

Cranach the Elder is one of the most significant German Renaissance painters.

OSLO (NORVEGE) [13.03.09] – Le tableau de Cranach volé le week-end dernier dans une église de Larvik a été retrouvé par la police norvégienne.

La police norvégienne a retrouvé le tableau de Lucas Cranach l’Ancien, qui avait été dérobé dans la nuit de samedi à dimanche, rapporte l’agence NTB. L’auteur du vol, un homme d’une cinquantaine d’années, a été arrêté, mais la police n’exclut pas la possibilité d’arrêter des complices. L’état de l’œuvre peinte n’est pas connu.

Le vol du tableau de Lucas Cranach l’Ancien « Laissez venir à moi les petits enfants », qui représente le Christ entouré d’enfants, a suscité une polémique en Norvège au sujet de la mauvaise protection des œuvres d’art dans les édifices religieux. Perché sur une échelle, le voleur avait simplement cassé une vitre pour saisir le tableau mal accroché. L’alarme n’avait pas sonné. www.artclair.com