An official ceremony took place on June 25 at the Municipal Council facilities, marking the return of a 19th-century painting, witnessed by representatives of the Polícia Judiciária (PJ), local officials, and municipal technicians.
The artwork was identified earlier this year during a national auction where it was offered for sale by the heir of a northern Portugal art collector.
Following a PJ alert, the Public Prosecutor’s Office led the process culminating in the painting’s formal return to the municipality, the statement added.
Measuring 23 by 29 centimeters, “O Bibliófilo” was part of a collection bequeathed to the city by the historian and politician Anselmo Braamcamp Freire, fulfilling his 1921 will.
The theft occurred on the night of August 28 to 29, 1978, during renovation works at the Municipal Library, resulting in the disappearance of at least 10 valuable objects, including paintings, watercolors, and a marble clock, the report further stated.
Among these, paintings by Vallin, Brueghel, Drovgtroot, and a 16th-century oil on wood by an unknown artist have been recovered.
Despite this recent recovery, artworks such as “Paisagem com Animais” by Conoy; “O Caçador” by Bordalo Pinheiro; two watercolor caricatures of Alexandre Herculano and Braamcamp Freire by Emílio Pimentel; and a brown marble clock with white spots remain missing.
The municipality sees the restitution of “O Bibliófilo” as a significant step in valuing the cultural legacy of Braamcamp Freire, a pivotal figure in Santarém’s history, and remains hopeful that the other missing pieces will eventually be retrieved.
