A | CHICAGO -- After a stopover in the U.S. that lasted the better part of a century, a baroque landscape painting that went missing during World War II was returned to Germany on Thursday. The FBI handed over the artwork by 18th century Austrian artist Johann Franz Nepomuk Lauterer to a German museum representative in a brief ceremony at the German Consulate in Chicago, where the pastoral piece showing an Italian countryside was on display. Art Recovery International, a company focused on locating and recovering stolen and looted art, tracked down the elusive painting after a person in Chicago reached out last year claiming to possess a “stolen or looted painting” that their uncle brought back to the U.S. after serving in World War II.The painting has been missing since 1945 and was first reported stolen from the Bavarian State Painting Collections in Munich, Germany. It was added to the database of the German Lost Art Foundation in 2012, according to a statement from the art recovery company. “The crux of our work at Art Recovery International is the research and restitution of artworks looted by Nazis and discovered in public or private collections. On occasion, we come across cases, such as this, where allied soldiers may have taken objects home as souvenirs or as trophies of wars," said Christopher Marinello, founder of Art Recovery International. "Being on the winning side doesn’t make it right,” he added.The identity of the Chicago resident who had the painting was not shared. The person initially asked Marinello to be paid for the artwork.“I explained our policy of not paying for stolen artwork and that the request was inappropriate,” Marinello said. “We also know that someone tried to sell the painting in the Chicago art market in 2011 and disappeared when the museum put forth their claim.” But with the help of the FBI Art Crime Team, attorneys, and the museum, Marinello negotiated an unconditional surrender of the artwork.The painting, titled “Landscape of Italian Character,” will now reunite with its counterpart, which shares similar motifs and imagery, according to the museum.The two paintings together form a panoramic scene featuring shepherds and travelers with their goats, cows, donkeys and sheep at a ford in a river. The pair will soon be displayed together for the first time since World War II at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, according to Bernd Ebert, the museum's chief curator of Dutch and German baroque paintings.Retrieving a long-lost painting "is actually a very rare moment for us,” Ebert said. “It’s exciting.”The Vienna-born artist, Lauterer, lived from 1700 to 1733.When war broke out in 1939, many Bavarian museum collections were evacuated to safe locations in the region, but the Lauterer painting has been missing since the beginning of the war, suggesting the possibility that it had been looted, according to the museum.The Bavarian State Painting Collections first started searching for the painting between 1965 and 1973, but no clues about its location emerged until decades later.Ebert, who flew from Munich to Chicago to retrieve the painting, will carefully bubble-wrap the centuries-old landscape to take it back home, where it will be touched up and restored after an eventful several decades.Luckily, Ebert said, it should fit in his suitcase.___Savage is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.。 In a verdict that brings to a close one of the most closely followed criminal trials in Kerala’s recent history, the Principal District and Sessions Court in Ernakulam on Monday acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep in the 2017 case concerning the abduction and sexual assault of a prominent woman actor. The court, presided over by Judge Honey M Varghese, found that the prosecution had failed to substantiate the allegations against Dileep, who was listed as the eighth accused, and against Charlie Thomas, the seventh accused.However, the court convicted six others, including the prime accused Sunil N S, better known as Pulsar Suni, finding them guilty of multiple serious charges including conspiracy, kidnapping, and gang rape. Sentences for the convicted individuals will be pronounced on December 12. In This Article Court Finds Key Accused Guilty of Multiple ChargesA Case That Shook Kerala’s Film IndustryDileep’s Arrest, Trial, and AcquittalWhat Lies AheadCourt Finds Key Accused Guilty of Multiple Charges The six men convicted in the case are Sunil N S alias Pulsar Suni, Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijeesh V P, Salim H alias Vadival Salim, and Pradeep. They were found guilty under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 120B (criminal conspiracy), 340 (wrongful confinement), 354 (use of criminal force to outrage modesty), 366 (kidnapping), 354B (use of force to disrobe a woman), and 376D (gang rape).The court also found them guilty under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act for filming the sexual assault, an act that added a layer of digital evidence to a case already fraught with emotional and social repercussions.The Sessions Court noted that the evidence presented clearly established the involvement of the first six accused in the crime, while the same could not be said for Dileep and Charlie Thomas. The judge stated that the prosecution was unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Dileep had played any role in planning or abetting the crime. A Case That Shook Kerala’s Film Industry The incident dates back to February 17, 2017, when the survivor, a well-known Malayalam actor, was abducted while travelling to a film shoot in Thrissur. She was allegedly confined inside a moving vehicle and subjected to sexual assault, with the ordeal recorded by the perpetrators on camera.The case sent shockwaves through Kerala and the wider film industry, not only for the nature of the crime but also for the stature of the accused and the victim. The survivor’s courage in pursuing justice inspired widespread conversations about safety, gender dynamics, and accountability in the entertainment world.The first major breakthrough came the day after the incident, when the police arrested Martin Antony, the driver of the vehicle. Within a week, the alleged mastermind Pulsar Suni was also taken into custody. By the end of that month, four more individuals had been arrested, marking a swift initial phase of the investigation.Suni, the first accused, remained in custody for over seven years before being granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2024. Throughout this period, he consistently maintained that he had acted on someone else’s instructions, though his claims remained mired in contradictions and speculation. Dileep’s Arrest, Trial, and Acquittal Dileep’s arrest in July 2017 marked a dramatic turning point in the case. The actor was accused of conspiring to orchestrate the crime as an act of revenge following personal disputes involving his then-wife. His arrest divided public opinion in Kerala, leading to polarised debates and protests across the state.The actor’s first two bail pleas were rejected by the Kerala High Court, citing the gravity of the charges and the need for a thorough investigation. He was eventually granted bail in October 2017 after spending 83 days in judicial custody.The trial officially commenced in 2020 and continued for nearly five years. During the proceedings, more than 200 witnesses were examined, and hundreds of documents were submitted as evidence. Despite the extensive nature of the trial, the court ultimately ruled that the prosecution’s case against Dileep lacked sufficient evidence for conviction.For Dileep, who remains one of Malayalam cinema’s biggest stars, the verdict marks the end of a prolonged legal and public ordeal. The actor had consistently maintained his innocence, claiming he had been falsely implicated. What Lies Ahead While the judgment has acquitted Dileep, it does not necessarily bring the legal proceedings to a full stop. The survivor retains the right to appeal the verdict before the Kerala High Court, which could reopen judicial scrutiny into the alleged conspiracy.The case remains a defining chapter in Kerala’s cultural and judicial narrative, one that tested the state’s legal system and its society’s response to crimes against women. As the dust settles, the conversation around justice, gender, and accountability in Malayalam cinema is far from over.Also Read: Dileep’s ‘Prince And Family’ Cleared For Release With A U Certificate。
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