Russia ask for artwork on loan to Italy to be returned

Detail of Young Woman with a Feathered Hat by Titian

 MOSCOW – Following the addition of Italy to Russia’s list of ‘hostile countries,’ the country’s Ministry of Culture has asked Italian institutions to send back all the material they have on loan from Russia, which includes works by Picasso, Titian, and almost an entire exhibition on Kandinskij, official sources said.

 A circular from the Italian Ministry of Culture sanctioned the immediate suspension of all activities relating to the "Crossed Year of Italy-Russia museums ", which also includes the end of all “institutional cultural promotion activities” with the Russian Federation, and “with the consequent withdrawal of any administrative act relating to any form of partnership and collaboration in progress and any preliminary investigations the granting of patronage.”

 Consequently, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg has asked for the return of the material that is now on display in Italy such as the Young Woman with a Feathered Hat by Titian, exhibited at the Palazzo Reale exhibition in Milan, as well as the 25 works of the exhibition dedicated to the Grand Tour at the Gallerie d'Italia also in Milan.

 The Young Woman by Pablo Picasso, never before exhibited in Italy, had also been on loan from Russia, displayed at the Fendi Foundation in Rome until May 15. Other works will have to be returned from Palazzo Roverella in Rovigo, where an extensive exhibition dedicated to Kandinskij opened on Feb. 26, with 80 works by the great Russian painter, most of which come from Russian museums and private collections.

 The Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said, “it seems clear to me that when an owner asks for the return of his works, they must be returned.”

 The letter sent by the director of the Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky to the director of the Royal Palace Domenico Piraina and the president of Skira publishing house Massimo Vitta Zelman was polite but left no room for discussion.

 "According to the decision of the Russian Ministry of Culture,” the letter read, “all outstanding loans must be repaid from abroad to Russia and, as you know, the Hermitage is a state museum that depends on the Ministry of Culture.” So “we must take back the objects of the Hermitage that are exhibited in the Royal Palace.”

 “I fully understand that this decision will cause you great sorrow and inconvenience and I hope for your understanding,” added Piotrovsky, after having discussed the practicalities of packaging and shipping.

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The Young Woman by Pablo Picasso, 1909
Composition Landscape by Kandiskij, 1915

 © COPYRIGHT ITALIAN INSIDER
UNAUTHORISED REPRODUCTION FORBIDDEN