Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale,Church Theft,Erik the Belgian,La Guardia Civil,Spain
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The Long Road Home: The Recovery of San Lucas from Astudillo
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| Detail of the altarpiece of the main altar of Santa Eugenia |
In 1927, a black-and-white photograph published in Historia documentada de la villa de Astudillo by Anacleto Orejó quietly documented a masterpiece in situ. The image shows a polychrome wooden sculpture of San Lucas, attributed to the celebrated 15th-century sculptor Gil de Siloé, positioned in the predella (the lowest tier) of the altarpiece in the Church of Santa Eugenia de Astudillo, in Spain’s Castilla y León region. At the time, the photograph served a purely documentary purpose. Decades later, it would become critical evidence.
On the night of 17–18 July 1979, the church was targeted by thieves. Four polychrome wooden sculptures depicting the Evangelists, among them San Lucas, all attributed to Gil de Siloé, were removed from the predella and stolen along with a silver censer. The theft was later linked to René Alphonse Ghislain Van den Berghe, the notorious trafficker of sacred art known as "Erik the Belgian."
Considered to be the greatest art thief of the 20th century, by his own admission, Van den Berghe is believed to have stolen over 600 works of religious art including altarpieces, capitals, crosses, panel paintings, carvings, tapestries, books, paintings, goldsmiths’ works, and furniture from churches and religious institution across Spain.
That silence was broken more than forty years later when a photo of the polychrome sculpture depicting Saint Luke was recognised by the directors of Theotokopoulos Gallery María Elizari and Pedro Ramón Jiménez in sales material advertising an upcoming auction at Cambi Casa d'Aste in Genova, Italy. Misattributed to the 20th century Italian sculptor Angelo Biancini with an unbelievably low estimated sales price. After studying the piece and determining its origins they notified the Historical Heritage Section of Spain's Civil Guard.
This case stands as a powerful example of what determined cross-border cooperation between law enforcement agencies can achieve, while also exposing a deeper and persistent vulnerability. Churches, particularly in rural or economically challenged areas, remain among the most at-risk heritage sites affected by art crime. Their treasures are often fragile, poorly inventoried, openly accessible, and only lightly protected. As this case demonstrates, stolen works can disappear into circulation for decades, passing silently from hand to hand, before a single trace allows them to be found and brought home.
