The "Portrait of a Man" painting by Krzysztof Lubieniecki was returned to Polish authorities and is currently on the way back from the US to Poland.

The artwork, painted around 1728, was stolen in WWII, the Polish Culture Ministry said.

Krzysztof Lubieniecki was a Polish Baroque painter working in Amsterdam during the Golden Age. The painting was recently recovered with the help of the FBI.

During a brief ceremony at the FBI headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, the painting was handed over to representatives of the Polish Culture Ministry.

The "Portrait of a Man" is one of many works of art that were looted by the Nazis from the National Museum in Warsaw in October 1944.

The painting most probably then went to the Fischhorn castle in Austria, where it was discovered by American soldiers who, after the end of the war, took it to the United States.

The portrait was eventually sold to buyers in Columbus, Ohio. (rg/rk)