After the death of Sigmar Polke on 10 June 2010 in Cologne, several of his works were stolen from a gallery in the Rhine metropolis, including the painting Vasen Linsenbild, which was estimated at half a million euros (£430,000).
After the investigators had been groping about the dark for years, the police in Mainz received a tip of an offer to sell the painting in November 2020. Soon afterwards two men (43 and 48 years old) and a 39-year-old woman were identified as potential suspects.
See also: Stolen Picasso Found Under a Bush
On 26 May 2021, the search warrant for the Mainz apartments of the three suspects was issued. The 111 x 92 cm Vasen Linsenbild was found in one of them, as announced in a press release by the Mainz police headquarters on 6 July.
The authenticity of Polke's work has already been confirmed, and the investigation into the background of the crime is ongoing.
