The artworks in question are Picasso’s painting titled “Tête” and Chagall’s piece “L’homme en priere” both of which were stolen in February 2010 from a villa in Tel Aviv. At the time of the theft, the loot was estimated to be worth $900,000 for the two paintings, in addition to $680,000 worth of jewelry taken by the thief, as reported by The Guardian.

Tracking ‘Daniel Z’ for the recovery of stolen Chagall and Picasso paintings

Belgian police investigators received information in late 2022 that an art dealer in Namur, Wallonia, was offering two paintings for sale. During a covert operation lasting several months, the police tracked the movements of the suspect, a 68-year-old Israeli luxury watch dealer known as “Daniel Z.” When federal police executed a search warrant at the suspect’s home last week, they found a substantial amount of money but not the stolen paintings.

Surveillance and resource measures employed by the police in 2023 indicated that the suspect had been in possession of the sought-after artworks, and they might be concealed either at his residence or with an associate, said police representatives to the Belgian Le Soir newspaper. The suspect admitted to being the owner of the paintings but did not disclose their location.

The investigation expanded to a building in Antwerp that had previously functioned as an art shop and was linked to the cases of the stolen paintings. In the cellar, investigators discovered two wooden crates containing the stolen artworks. Belgian police specified that the paintings remained undamaged and in their original frames. The main suspect, arrested on a warrant, faces charges for receiving the two paintings—a significant step in the restoration and justice journey in Belgian art circles.

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