top cx logo
cx logo
Explorearrow down
search icon

Stolen 'Rembrandt' recovered in Nice

€4m work of art attributed to old master stolen on Bastille Day 1999 has been recovered in Mediterranean city

A WORK of art attributed to the artist Rembrandt which was stolen from a French museum in 1999, has been rediscovered in Nice.

Two men, one aged 44 and the other 51, have been arrested after trying to sell the “Child with a Soap Bubble” artwork, which has been valued at about €4m. It features a young boy with dark brown hair, wearing a golden necklace and holding a soap bubble.

It was stolen from a museum in Draguignan on Bastille Day in 1999.

The recovery of the painting is a coup for l’Office central de lutte contre le trafic des biens culturels (OCBC), which recovered a Picasso stolen by one of the artist’s granddaughters in Paris in 2007, and - a year later - found impressionist works taken from the Museum of Fine Arts in Nice during an armed raid.

Rembrandt is the most popular of the “old masters” with thieves. The London-based Art Loss Register has 337 paintings attributed to him on its database of stolen art. The most famous work of his on the register is the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, which was stolen - along with other Rembrandts and works by Vermeer and Manet - from the Gardner Museum in Boston, America, in 1999.

Whether Child with a Soap Bubble is a genuine Rembrandt is still to be confirmed. There is speculation it could be the work of one of his students.

Resident or second-home owner in France?
Benefit from our daily digest of headlines and how-to's to help you make the most of life in France
By joining the newsletter, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
See more popular articles
The Connexion Help Guides
featured helpguide
Visa and residency cards for France*
Featured Help Guide
- Visas and residency cards (cartes de séjour) for France help guide - Understand when visas and residency cards are required to move to France or come for an extended stay - Applies to Britons (post-Brexit) and to all other non-EU/non-EEA/Swiss nationalities - Useful to anyone considering a move to France, whether for work or otherwise, or wanting to spend more than three months at their French second home
Get news, views and information from France