Two valuable 17th century paintings were found in Germany in a dumpster. It is reported by the BBC.
The oil paintings are believed to be by the Dutch artist Samuel van Hoogstraten and the Italian Pietro Bellotti, according to German police.
The paintings were found last month at a service station on the A7 motorway south of Würzburg in Bavaria.
The finder handed over the paintings to the Cologne police, so far their owner has not been found.
According to preliminary estimates of art critics, two framed paintings are originals. Journalists report that Hoogstraten’s paintings are sold at auctions for significant sums: the image of a shepherdess was sold in London for $ 69,000, the painting “The Crucifixion” – for $ 394,000.
One of the paintings is a portrait of a boy in a red hat, supposedly painted by Hoogstraten, who lived in the Netherlands between 1627 and 1678.
Another is a smiling self-portrait of Bellotti, who lived from 1625 to 1700.
The police are calling on everyone who recognizes these paintings, or knows how they ended up among the trash, to report it.
Hoogstraten, a student of the famous Dutch artist Rembrandt, is known for experimenting with perspective and artistic technique that gives the work a three-dimensional look, journalists say.
Little is known about Bellotti. He was given orders and patronized by influential families in Venice; during his life in Paris, Cardinal Mazarin was his customer.
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