Gustav Klimt theft case reopens in Italy 17 years on

Police hope advances in DNA testing will help find match from partial fingerprint on frame once containing Portrait of a Woman

More than 17 years since it was stolen from a gallery in northern Italy,Gustav Klimt's Portrait of a Woman is reportedly once again the subject of a police investigation after technological advances allowed for the case to be reopened.

The oil painting, believed to date from 1916-1917, was stolen from the Ricci-Oddi gallery in Piacenza in February 1997 and disappeared without a trace.

Now, thanks to more sophisticated testing of the frame, investigators are hoping that new test results will provide a DNA match with one or more suspects, the Italian news agency Ansa reported.

In the aftermath of the theft, which appeared to be timed to coincide with renovation work in advance of which many works were removed from the gallery, police appeared flummoxed.

They were unable to say whether the thief – or thieves – had come in through the main entrance or had used a string and hook to fish the painting through a nearby skylight. All that was left was an empty frame with a partial fingerprint which police now hope will yield an answer.

The work, acquired by the collection in 1925, was thought to be too famous to sell on, leading some to speculate that it had been stolen to order.

In it, a young woman with dark hair and rouged cheeks is shown against a green background. It is one of the most sought-after stolen works in Italy.

The Austrian artist, a co-founder of the Viennese Secession, is the subject of an exhibition at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, near Piacenza.