Two ‘priceless’ stolen Van Gogh paintings found in Italy by anti-mafia police

Two paintings by Vincent Van Gogh have been found in Italy 14 years after they were stolen from a Dutch museum.

The artworks were seized from the Camorra crime clan by police in Naples.

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam said the paintings - 1884-85’s Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen and 1882’s View of the Sea at Scheveningen - were in “relatively good condition”.

Both were found without their frames and showed signs of some damage, however.

Found: View of the Sea at Scheveningen (Van Gogh Museum)

The paintings will remain in Italy until the criminal case has been completed.

Axel Rüger, Director of the Van Gogh Museum, said: “It is really a major step that the paintings have been found.

"We have been waiting for this moment for 14 years. And naturally the only thing you want is to take them straight home with you. But we will have to exercise a little bit more patience.”

Thieves used a ladder and sledgehammers to break into the museum via a window in 2002. Two Dutchmen were jailed for the crime in 2004.

Top image: Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen (Van Gogh Museum)