Mystery Persists as Missing Swiss Paintings Reappear 

A man walks past the entrance of the Kunsthaus Zurich art museum on March 14, 2023. (AFP)
A man walks past the entrance of the Kunsthaus Zurich art museum on March 14, 2023. (AFP)
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Mystery Persists as Missing Swiss Paintings Reappear 

A man walks past the entrance of the Kunsthaus Zurich art museum on March 14, 2023. (AFP)
A man walks past the entrance of the Kunsthaus Zurich art museum on March 14, 2023. (AFP)

One of the Switzerland's top art museums announced Sunday the return of two paintings that went missing last year, refusing to provide details in a case still under investigation.

Kunsthaus Zurich offered in June 2023 a reward of 10,000 Swiss francs ($11,100) for information that could help it track one painting by Flemish painter Robert van den Hoecke and another by the Dutch Golden Age artist Dirck de Bray.

The small paintings disappeared when the Kunsthaus took down more than 700 works for cleaning and restoration after a fire broke out in August 2022.

But no trace of the two paintings could later be found.

On Sunday, the museum said only that its restoration experts had confirmed both paintings were in "good condition", with no indication of how or when they turned up.

Because of ongoing police inquiries, "no further information will be released for the time being," the Kunsthaus said.

Museum officials had alerted the missing works to the Art Loss Register, the world's largest database of lost and stolen pieces.



Saudi Arabia, France Discuss Boosting Cultural Cooperation

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia, France Discuss Boosting Cultural Cooperation

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq has met with French Ambassador to the Kingdom Patrick Maisonnave to discuss boosting cultural cooperation between the two countries.

Al-Touq praised France's efforts to enhance existing cultural cooperation, commending the French Ministry of Culture's support for initiatives under the memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides in 2021. He highlighted the deep strategic partnership between the two nations across various cultural sectors, mainly film, heritage, museums, fashion, libraries, theater and performing arts, and visual arts.

The ambassador also praised Saudi Arabia's efforts to expand cultural relations with France in the service of both nations. He conveyed France's appreciation to Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan for his dedicated efforts to foster cooperation between the two sides.

Their talks focused on current cultural partnerships between Saudi Arabia and France, reviewing future opportunities and practical steps to promptly implement cultural cooperation and exchange.

The meeting was attended by the Ministry of Culture's Undersecretary for International Cultural Relations Eng. Fahd bin Abdulrahman Al-Kanaan.