Has A Stolen Painting Magically Found Its Way to Michigan?

What would you do if you had something stolen from you?

What if that stolen item popped up in a major way?

That is what allegedly happened with this Van Gogh painting.

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The painting in question is called "The Novel Reader" or "The Reading Lady" painted by the legendary Vincent Van Gogh in 1888. This particular painting is worth more than $5 million.

Brokerarte Capital Partners LLC and Gustavo Soter, its sole proprietor, bought the masterpiece in 2017 for $3.7 million.

However, according to the lawsuit, Soter says a "third party" stole the painting and it has been missing for almost six whole years.

How does a famous painting by one of the most infamous artists in the world go missing without a trace?

It seems impossible to me. Do paintings not have trackers?

The painting was missing in action until it magically popped up in a rare Van Gogh exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

The lawsuit states that it wants the Van Gogh painting returned to Soter. However, U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh stopped the museum from returning it before the court hearing taking place on January 19th.

You are probably wondering what the museum has to say about this incredibly weird situation.

Well according to WOOD-TV, the museum declined to talk about the situation saying,

no allegation of misconduct by the DIA has been alleged.

According to the museum, the Van Gogh painting is on loan from a certain collection in Sao Paulo, Brazil. That is interesting since Gustavo Soter himself is from Brazil as well.

The museum stated that,

The loan was accepted in accordance with best museum practices and is subject to the protections of applicable federal law through registration with the U.S. Department of State.

Well, let's see how this situation plays out in the court system.

What do you think? Do you think the painting was stolen?