Blühm hurriedly left his seat. The french fries were left uneaten. This wasn’t just any painting — it was one of Vincent Van Gogh’s early works, “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring,” which had been stolen from another museum in the Netherlands in 2020. Although arrests had been made, the painting had remained missing in the underworld, being passed around like a nuclear hot potato ever since.
But on Monday morning, the 1884 painting was recovered in a scene reminiscent of a Hollywood movie: It was delivered to Dutch art detective Arthur Brand, known as the “Indiana Jones of the art world,” inside a bloody pillowcase that was stuffed in an Ikea bag. Brand immediately called Blühm.
“It was an incredibly emotional reunion and truly an amazing day,” Blühm told The Washington Post. “The painting is an integral part of our collection and our local cultural heritage, and the thought of potentially losing it forever was terrible.”
Unlike Van Gogh’s more vibrant and well-known works from his French period, “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring” has a subdued color palette of deep browns. At the time, Van Gogh was experimenting with classic landscape painting by recreating scenes from his parents’ home in Nuenen, Netherlands. The painting, which depicts a mysterious woman walking in a garden, had been in the city of Groningen for over 120 years before it was stolen from a temporary exhibit and loaned to another museum in 2020.
In January 2020, the painting was displayed in the city of Laren as part of an exhibition called “Mirror of the Soul.” However, in the early hours of March 30, 2020, a man broke into the museum, took the painting, and fled on a motorcycle. Coincidentally, this crime occurred on Van Gogh’s birthday.
“To be honest, there were better paintings in the exhibition in terms of artistic value,” said Evert van Os, the general manager of the Singer Laren museum. “But the name Van Gogh is like magic for criminals because they all know him internationally.”
Authorities say Peter Roy K, who was already in prison for another case involving the large-scale import and export of cocaine, commissioned the theft in an attempt to negotiate a reduced sentence. The theft was carried out by Nils M, who was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing the painting.
“This is more like artnapping,” said Blühm. “With artworks by famous artists like Van Gogh, the intention is not to steal it for selling or hanging it in a basement, but rather to have something to use as a bargaining chip.”
However, there is a major problem with stolen art, according to Brand.
“No one wants to touch illegal art,” the detective said. “Anyone who has come into contact with this painting has ended up in prison for a long time and has been fined millions.”
The invaluable piece suddenly became worthless, passed from one group to another until someone decided it was time to end the cycle.
Brand received the first message a few weeks ago, out of the blue. His phone lit up with a WhatsApp message asking if he was bound by confidentiality. Brand responded that he wasn’t bound by any obligations. The anonymous sender then said he could return “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring” and provided proof.
“I discussed it with the Dutch police, and it was clear from the beginning that this person had no involvement in the theft,” Brand said. “He simply wanted to hand it over, so we went along with it.”
On Saturday, Brand was at a party when he received another message: “Arthur, I see you standing outside. I’m here, and I want to meet you under the tree.”
Brand left the celebration and went to a dark area where a man on a bench promised to return the painting in two days, provided he didn’t encounter any problems. Brand immediately informed Blühm, who arranged to travel to Amsterdam to identify the painting once it was delivered.
Blühm had already experienced one false alarm and was skeptical about getting his hopes up again. He also had to keep the recovery mission a secret. Although he thought to himself, “I will only believe it when I see it,” Blühm called in sick from work on Monday and waited in a cafe for Brand’s call.
A couple of blocks away, the exchange was already taking place. Brand heard a doorbell ring and opened the door to find a man with a battered Ikea bag and a smile on his face. The man apologized for the traces of blood that had splattered on the pillowcase when he accidentally cut his hand.
Brand carefully took the painting out of the pillowcase. It was about 11 inches tall and 22 inches long, with a few scratches but otherwise in good condition. He then called Blühm to verify its authenticity.
“Calling the police is still problematic because stolen art doesn’t end up at the Salvation Army; it ends up in the criminal world,” Brand said. “But sometimes, people in the criminal underworld, for whatever reason, want to do something good.”
The painting is now safely held by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, where it will undergo restoration. Blühm hopes to display it again at the Groninger Museum, but he plans to keep it there for at least a couple of years because he’s “still a little traumatized” by the experience and reluctant to loan it out again.
When Blühm was finally able to announce the news on Tuesday, the museum staff celebrated with lukewarm champagne and cake. Although the recovery brought immense joy to the Netherlands, the museum director acknowledged a bittersweet aspect.
“We are obviously overjoyed,” he said. “But the sad thing is that this incident suddenly makes this painting more interesting. And that’s not fair because the painting is already interesting as it is, and it doesn’t need that story.”
