The artwork itself, created early in van Gogh’s career, depicts a captivating scene featuring a brushy figure standing in a garden with a church as the backdrop.
This particular piece was created during a brief period when the artist lived in the Dutch city of Nuenen. His father served as a pastor in a local parish.
The return of “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring” marks a significant moment for art enthusiasts worldwide. It was an integral part of the Groninger Museum’s collection and a cherished piece of local cultural heritage. The museum was afraid it might have been lost forever.
According to The Art Newspaper, which initially reported the recovery, the theives held the stolen Van Gogh painting to use it as a bargaining chip for the release of a prisoner.
In March 2021, Dutch authorities arrested a man in the town of Baarn near Utrecht, in connection to the theft of this van Gogh masterpiece and another art heist at the Hofje van Aerden museum in Leerdam, both in the Netherlands.
