Common to all discovery and restitution cases are these four characteristics: diplomacy; extensive research and investigative work; influencers who raise awareness and engage the court of public opinion; and luck/timing. In the case of the van Huysum return, all four were present in abundance. This would not have been possible without the diplomatic efforts of Alberto Bonisoli, Cultural Heritage Minister of Italy, and Enzo Moavero Milanesi, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, working with their counterpart, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas; the investigative leadership of General Giovanni Nistri, General Commander of the Italian Carabinieri Corps, and General Parrulli, Commander of the Carabinieri’s Cultural Heritage Protection Unit, whose dedicated team tracked down every lead during a multi-decade investigation; and Eike Schmidt, Director of the Uffizi Galleries, who courageously stepped forward in January of this year to make a public and moral appeal for the return of the painting.

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Our Foundation contributed by raising worldwide awareness of the Vase of Flowers, through Robert Edsel’s books, in particular Saving Italy and through our groundbreaking investigative documentary series, Hunting Nazi Treasure (produced by Saloon Media), which dedicated an entire episode to these wartime events in Italy and profiled the missing van Huysum.