Decorating Tips

I am not exactly a master of feng shui (the ancient Chinese art of arranging spaces in a way that creates harmony and balance) as anyone who has seen my desk can attest. Nevertheless, I do have some practical advice when it comes to home decorating.Recently, a real estate ad for a villa in the fashionable coastal city of Mar del Plata, Argentina, featured a cozy living room with pale blue walls, a pair of simple yet stylish lamps and a green, velvet sofa. The centerpiece of the room, however, is a baroque portrait of Italian countess Colleoni, painted in the 18th century by Giuseppe Ghisland. Unfortunately, the painting seems to dominate the room in a way that makes the rest of the furnishings seem a bit tawdry in comparison. That is one of the risks of what is known as “centerpiecing” among interior decorators. The other problem is that the painting was looted by Nazis from a Jewish art collector in 1940.It turns out that villa belongs to Patricia Kadgien, one of the daughters of Friedrich Kadgien who was a senior Nazi financier, SS officer and an aide to Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring.The family of Jacques Goudstikker, said art collector, is pleased as punch over this discovery. Meanwhile, Kadgien and her husband were placed under house arrest. Police have since seized multiple paintings and engravings from other properties connected to Kadgien and her sisters (That's going to be an awkward Thangsgiving) and are investigating if those works were also stolen.So, I guess my decorating advice would be, perhaps, display your Nazi loot a little less prominently.

Marilyn Epp

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