The newspaper "Kommersant", № 149 (4934), 14/08/2012
Under the layer of colorful looking Russian Museum
A copy of the paintings by Boris Grigoriev sold as the real
Pictures of "The Restaurant" was at least two: one is a criminal case, the other is kept in the Russian Museum
Photo: The Russian Museum
The State Russian Museum was involved in a scandal involving the sale of fake paintings of famous Russian painter Boris Grigoriev. Collector Andrey Vasilyev, who bought a fake painting a chain of intermediaries, the original of which is stored in the museum, I am sure that a copy or detailed photos for its manufacture have been made to the store. Persons involved in the scandal say nothing to do with fraud. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Culture are going to conduct an audit in the museum.
Investigation Department of the Petrograd district of Research Affairs in St. Petersburg opened a criminal case under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code ("Fraud in large-scale") on the application of well-known in the collector Andrei Vasilyev. The resolution states that the collector has suffered from the actions of "unidentified persons" who inflicted damage amounting to 7.9 million rubles. Note that the case was brought to the audit, which took almost a year.
Collector himself testified the police that the July 10, 2009 his old friend - publisher of books about Russian artists Leonid Shumakov offered him a painting by Boris Grigoriev's "Restaurant," written in 1913. Avant-garde artist Grigoriev escaped from Soviet Russia in 1919, crossed the Gulf of Finland on the boat, after which for years was removed from the art history of the country. In Europe, Boris Grigoriev, became popular for his illustrations and portraits - a few years ago the price of his paintings have soared rapidly: in 2004 his "Woman in the Hat" was sold at Sotheby `s auction for £ 588 thousand
As told "Kommersant" collector, before he bought from Mr. Shumakova pictures and asked to contact him if he knew of the sale of works from the famous collections or that have been published in catalogs before the Revolution. In this case, what happened - the publisher was soon sent him an e-mail photographs of works, among which were pictures of "restaurant" in the pages of pre-revolutionary edition of "My journal for the few" with stamps of the Imperial Public Library.
According to the seller, the picture came from an old collection of Leningrad, where she directly from the collection of its first owner, Vladimir Burtsev. In this case the publisher claimed, the authenticity of the pictures did not cause any doubts from the experts, in particular, employees of the Russian Museum Julia Solonovich. After a little haggling painting was bought for $ 250 thousand - the money was handed over cash in a flat collector.
According to "Kommersant" Mr. Vasiliev, receiving the picture, he found that it is somewhat different from the published catalog, but attributed this "work-retoucher edition." In March 2010, after the restoration of a small section of the work was presented at the Moscow exhibition "Parizhachi", where she saw a former expert at the Center Grabar Restoration Julia Rybakov, a collector reported that he got a fake, which it previously gave a negative opinion. This conclusion was based on the fact that in color, which was painted the picture used substances that were introduced much later than the author's death "in the restaurant." Later, the Russian Museum also recognized the painting a forgery.
Collector Vasiliev immediately demanded that the dealer gave him back his money without inflating the scandal, but he refused, saying that he was only an intermediary, and the work belonged to Elena Basner, for a long time to work in the Russian Museum. But the judge explained to the collector, the owner is not she a resident of Tallinn, Michael Aronson, the way previous convictions for theft, robbery and drug trafficking. As a result, the collector has filed suit against Mr. Shumakov - the process is still ongoing.
Already being the owner of a fake, Mr. Vasiliev discovered that the original film "The restaurant" is stored in the Russian Museum, where she enrolled in the 80s in the collection of Professor Boris Okunev, which was engaged in describing Ms. Basner. According to Mr. Vasilyev, high-quality copy of a picture could do in the museum or removed in the same detailed photos. On this occasion, he appealed to the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medina requested to verify the protection of assets of the Russian Museum. In the ministry of "Kommersant" reported that this audit will be conducted in the near future.
In the Russian Museum collector denied the claim. One of the preservation department heads Goldovsky Gregory said, "Kommersant" that the fraud, which suspect the museum "is absolutely impossible, based on the security system, issuing and copying of works." According to him, it is a product of 50 by 70 cm, which is up for all to see would be to take more than one day, and a copy would not be drawn from the museum - on all outputs are set police stations. As for the suspicions against Elena Basner, who worked at the Russian Museum until 2003, then, according to the interlocutor, "Y", "to imagine that she conceived and performed a crime can only be delirious." In turn, Ms. Basner told "Kommersant" that the beginning of a criminal investigation it can only be happy, because she is interested in the fact that law enforcement is objectively understood in this story. "I am confident in his own innocence," - she said, acknowledging that she received a picture of Michael Aranson, a criminal record which, according to an expert, it is not known. As Leonid Shumakova, he said, "Kommersant" that he was confident of the authenticity of the picture, which from him was a collector Vasiliev. "In any case, the reverse has no proven" - he said.
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2001189/print