German tax collectors executing a search warrant on the reclusive son of an art dealer discovered a collection of some 1,500 precious works of art confiscated by the Nazis prior to World War II, including works by Matisse, Picasso, and Chagall.

The cache might be worth more than A$1.4 Billion.

The raid went down more than two years ago, but is only coming to light now.  Despite possessing a treasure beyond the imagination, 80-something Cornelius Gurlitt lived almost like a hermit in a dirty, dusty, garbage strewn flat in Munich.  Authorities suspect him of tax evasion and got the warrant to search the flat.

The artwork recovered had vanished from sight during the nazi reign of terror.  It’s believed the paintings belong to Jewish art collectors who had to sell under pressure.  The Nazis did not care for modern art, calling it “degenerate”, and they especially hated Picasso who condemned nazi barbarity with his painting “Guernica”.

To find this many pieces of art in one place is amazing; they represent a sizeable chuck of the estimated 16,000 works of art stolen by the nazis.