Works stolen from the National Library are returned by Itaú Cultural

Four works of art that had been stolen in 2004 from National Library, in Rio de Janeiro, were returned to the collection yesterday (3). The pieces, three drawings by Franz Keller-Leuzinger and a lithograph by Buvelot & Moreau, were in the Itaú Cultural collection and were identified, through expertise, as belonging to the library.

In April of this year, the National Library and Itaú Cultural signed a return agreement, under the suspicion that part of the collection purchased by Itaú from a collector was, in fact, stolen.

With the agreement, 102 works that were in the bank's collection were submitted to expertise. Of this total, some received an inconclusive report, as they were manipulated, washed or recolored and only 32 were identified as not belonging to the National Library. The works returned on Monday were currently part of the Brasiliana Itaú Collection.

According to the National Library, the three Keller–Leuzinger drawings (entitled “Fishing scene after storm”, “Manaus” and “Moju River”) were easily identified because they are unique works. In addition, the institution has extensive documentation on their acquisition.

Buvelot & Moreau's lithograph was modified. According to experts, the image was monochrome, but it was scraped and colored a few years ago with colored pencils, a tool that was not used in the 19th century. Even so, the piece was recognized because the technicians were able to identify, with a special light, the number of the safe where it was kept in the library.

thief confessed

The stolen works of art were located through letters written at the beginning of last year by Laérssio Oliveira, who confessed to having stolen the pieces. On the occasion, he revealed that the engravings by the German Emil Bausch had been stolen by him from the library and sold to the collector Ruy Souza e Silva, who, in turn, were sold to Itaú.

In view of the statement, the institution sent the works to the National Library for expertise, which confirmed that they were from its collection, and they were returned. Then, the agreement between the two institutions was signed to assess whether more missing pieces from the library were also at Itaú Cultural.

According to the National Library, the institution suffered two major thefts in 2004 and 2005, under the presidency of Pedro Correa do Lago, who is also the curator of the Itaú collection.

The Federal Police is investigating the case and should hear Pedro Correa do Lago and collector Ruy Souza e Silva next week. Laéssio and Itaú Cultural's management have already given their testimonials. The information is from Agência Brasil.