French police recover Rembrandt stolen 15 years ago

Rembrandt self portrait. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

 

NICE—A Rembrandt painting stolen from a French museum in 1999 and worth millions has been recovered in the southern city of Nice, a source close to the investigation said Wednesday.

 

Two people have been arrested after being found in possession of the Dutch master’s “Child with a Soap Bubble” painting, which was valued at 20 million francs at the time of the theft, the source said.

 

This equates to roughly 3.9 million euros ($5.4 million) today.

 

The artwork was stolen from a museum in the nearby city of Draguignan in July 1999. It portrays a teenage boy with long dark brown locks, wearing a golden necklace and holding a soap bubble.

 

According to French newspaper Liberation, the two men were caught while trying to sell the painting.

 

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