A drawing by French painter Nicolas Rousseau is back in France in a bid to trace its rightful owners after it was looted during WW2.
The work is currently on display with a sign calling whoever recognizes it or knows its owner, to contact the authorities.
The 19th century drawing was returned to France, to its rightful owner after being returned by the son of the German soldier who took it on orders.
The small untitled artwork is exhibited at the World Centre for Peace, Liberty and Human Rights in the northeastern town of Verdun. Next to it hangs a sign: "If you recognize the landscape or have any information about this painting, we would be grateful if you would let us know."
Over the last two weeks, it has hung in the lobby of the center, which receives around 60,000 visitors a year, in hope that it will nudge someone's memory and lead the painting back to its owners or their heirs.
Philippe Hansch, the center's head, went to fetch the painting from Berlin at the beginning of August and brought it back by car. "We wanted it to be immediately accessible to visitors when they walk in and free of charge," Hansch said.
In the artwork, a figure sits on a riverbank under cloudy skies, surrounded by tall trees and with a village off in the distance.
Rousseau was a member of the Barbizon school of painters, who embraced naturalism in art.
According to Hansch, its true value goes far beyond its market value of 3,000 to 5,000 euros (2,700 to 4,500 sterling pounds).
"The painting is a big symbol of Franco-German friendship and allows the history of World War II to be told with fresh eyes from the French side and German side," he added.
