BERLIN (AFP).- More than two years after masterpieces looted by the Nazi regime were discovered in a Munich apartment, the first artwork was returned to the heirs of its original owner Friday.

The 1921 painting Seated Woman, also known as Woman with a Fan, originally belonged to Paul Rosenberg, but was looted as he fled from Germany to France in the 40s. It was discovered in 2012 among a trove of stashed artworks in the Munich flat of reclusive collector Cornelius Gurlitt.

Lawyer Chris Marinello, who represents the heirs of Paris-based dealer Paul Rosenberg and traveled to Munich to pick up the painting, said he was delighted with its return and hopes the German government "will act with expediency and transparency in reviewing and resolving other claims to the Gurlitt pictures."

The Museum of Fine Arts in Bern agreed in November to accept the controversial inheritance of Cornelius Gurlitt, son of a Nazi-era art dealer.

Gurlitt, who died in May last year, left behind a spectacular stash of art in his cluttered flat in the southern German city of Munich.

The artworks were acquired by his powerful father Hildebrand who was tasked by the Nazis with selling artwork stolen from Jewish families in the 1930s and 1940s.

A German government-appointed panel determined in June that the Matisse, whose worth has been estimated at $20 million, was "Nazi loot" stolen from Paris art collector Paul Rosenberg. 

Gruetters pledged in November that three such works including the Matisse would be returned "without delay" to the rightful heirs. 

The Museum of Fine Arts in Bern, Switzerland, agreed as part of an accord with the German government over the Gurlitt inheritance that it would restitute any works found to have been stolen by the Nazis.




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