Last month, Sir Norman Rosenthal (Norman Rosenthal), a former secretary of the London Royal Academy, told the newspaper The Art Newspaper, that the restitution time to finish. His words aroused controversial reactions in the art community.

Rosenthal not call indurate observers, absolutely do not care about what horrors the Jews had suffered during the Holocaust. He had himself a Jew. His parents were immigrants who had fled from Nazi arbitrariness in England. Many of his relatives were killed at that time. But despite this, he writes: «I can be very specific, nepolitkorrektnye views with which many disagree, but I believe that history - a history, and hours ago povernesh and the poor do not make good with through art. ... I think ... that the grandchildren or distant relatives who have seized Nazi art or [the other. - Ed .] Property does not have the undeniable right to the property at the beginning of the XXI century. If the values are in the hands of the public, even in connection with the horrific historical events, the way it should be ».

Not everyone agrees with Rosenthal. Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which in 2000 was an advisory group on the seizure of the property, responded to his words of the statement, which said: «We believe that in cases where it can be shown that a work of art was stolen in the era of Nazism, should respect the wishes of the heirs of the true owners and, if possible, return the work, or at least to recover the losses ».

Anne Webber (Anne Webber) Co-Chair of the Commission of trophy art in Europe, said that Rosenthal is trying to «find a new understanding of what is right and what is not». Tate Gallery director Nicholas Serota (Nicholas Serota) is not so categorical: «I think that now establish a moratorium [on restitution. - Ed. ] still early, but at some point in the future, this decision may prove correct ».

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Source: artinfo.com , artinvestment.ru