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The works, 1882's "View of the Sea at Scheveningen" and the
1884 "Congregation Leave the Reformed Church in Nuenen", are
from a period that was crucial to the post-impressionist
master's development as a painter.
"They are back," said Van Gogh museum director Axel Rueger ahead
of the unveiling of the paintings, each valued by investigators
on their recovery by Italian police six months ago at 50 million
euros ($53.97 million).
"I never thought I'd be able to say these words."
The works were discovered deep in the heart of Italy last
September behind a false wall in a villa that prosecutors said
belonged to Raffaele Imperiale, who is accused of running an
international cocaine trafficking ring.
The sea view, showing a single wave-tossed ship just offshore
under a brooding Dutch sky, is important to the museum as its
only work from the painter's period in The Hague, where he
studied.
The other canvas depicts the church in the southern province of
Brabant where Van Gogh's father was minister. After his father
died, Van Gogh added black-clad mourning figures to the painting
in tribute.
"The children are safely returned now and they really are safe,"
said Rueger, after pulling back a screen to show the paintings
encased behind a thick glass frame. "They will remain here for
many generations to come."
Italian investigators believe Imperiale is living in Dubai and
running a construction business there. The arrests of 11 members
of his alleged ring last January, including one man who turned
state's witness, led investigators to the paintings.
They vanished in 2002 after thieves climbed a ladder on to the
museum roof and broke into the building in a heist that took
only four minutes. They escaped by sliding down a rope.
The sea view suffered minor damage when it was ripped from its
frame, losing a piece of backing paper from the bottom-left
corner. It was a "miracle" the paintings suffered no further
harm over the following 14 years, Rueger said.
Several major items were uncovered in last September's raid,
including a private plane. One investigator noticed an
unusual-looking wall, behind which the paintings were found
wrapped in cloth.
($1 = 0.9265 euros)
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
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