Stolen Rubens Will Be Returned To Owners

Caledonian Bear Hunt

Sky News HD: Stolen Rubens Will Be Returned To Owners
An oil painting by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens will be handed back to its rightful owner in Belgium after being recovered in Greece - 10 years after it was stolen.

Greek police retrieved the 17th century work, called The Calydonian Boar Hunt, on September 1 after a tip-off.

"It is a huge success," said Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos.

"Our dogged pursuit of art thieves and looters of antiquities will continue.

"The message is that art thieves should take their business elsewhere - not Greece."

Mr. Geroulanos said experts at the Culture Ministry had authenticated the artwork and verified it was the painting snatched from the walls of Belgium's Museum of Fine Arts, in Ghent, in 2001.

"The painting was purchased as a Rubens, it was recorded as a Rubens in the catalogues and it was stolen as a Rubens," he said.

But questions about its authenticity have remained.

Since it was recovered art critics, including its Belgian owners, have suggested the unsigned oil sketch may be the work of one of Rubens' protégés and not the celebrated master.

During the theft, robbers also attempted to steal another work of art called The Flagellation of Christ.

Two Greek nationals, a 65-year-old art dealer and a 40-year-old television presenter, have been arrested and charged in connection with the case.

Police caught the suspects by posing as potential buyers.

Authorities in Athens have declined to give details of how the painting ended up in Greece.

"We believe that there are more (people) involved in this operation," said a senior police official.

Belgian diplomats in the Greek capital said they would be pursuing the "swift" return of the artwork to its rightful owners