Dear Sirs,

in the journal "Russian gallery twenty-first century", in room 5 /6 for the year 2009, on pages 90-92 published an article 'Interrupted flight. Mikhail V. Le Dante (1891-1917) ", signed by the name" A. Shatskih ". The existence of this publication to me, Doctor of Arts Alexandra Shatskih, quite by chance happen to know from a letter sent by e-mail administration unknown to me gallery "Last Century of Saint Petersburg. It reported: "Dear. Alexander S.! In the journal "Russian Gallery» № 5-6/2009 published your article on Le Dante MV The article gives an example of one of our work without reference to our gallery. The letter also notified me that, contrary to my assertions about the works of unpreserved Le Dante during World War I, the gallery is just one more, "steam to the published paper».

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Very intrigued, I made great efforts to procure aforesaid issue with my article " . After getting acquainted, and I realized that here was reprinted my old work devoted to 100 anniversary of the Russian avant-garde MV Le Dante - she appeared at one time in the book "100 anniversaries. 1991. Art calendar. Annual illustrated edition, published in 1990 in Moscow publishing house "Soviet Artist". The Journal in 2009, my text even bother to translate into English.

However, due to the small version of professionalism to reprint the article without egregious errors failed: for example, one of the mentors Le Dante Artist MD Bernstein, crossed in Journal "Vershteyna", the famous painting by Nico Pirosmanashvili "Junket mushas turned into a" feast of mice, each artist Maurice Fabbri in the caption to his portrait named "M. Farby».

article in the magazine is illustrated by five works of Michael Le Dante. In the captions under the illustrations are only the name of the author, title of the painting and the year of creation, while it is well known that the mandatory informative component of signatures is an indication of the location of work. Technique and size are important too, but not as binding as an indication of the location.

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four works by Le Dante (two of them, "Sazandar", "Portrait of Farben, ie, M. Fabbri, with the correct dates" 1912 "and two others - "The man with the horse", "Portrait of a Woman" with wrong dates "1910") I am well aware, they are in the state Russian museums.

fifth work, with the title "balalaika" and the date "1915", apparently, is the work, which belongs to an art gallery "last century" and the publication of which, without specifying the location was put me on the sight of her administration.

In therefore state the following. I, Alexandra Shatskih, never led to see this work until the reproduction of "my article, so I do not bear any liability for the determination of its author as the author Mikhail Vasilyevich Le Dante.

During the astonished acquaintance with my newfound publication I tried to find out more about the magazine itself. It was found a curious detail: the articles submitted to the Journal should be in duplicate and signed by the author. I have burning questions: where the original "my article, signed by me? When and to whom I was able to send-send them? Who chose the illustrations for the text? Does the editorial board, that the placement of illustrations in the article is the prerogative of the author and he takes full responsibility for the accuracy of information about them?

these questions, of course, rhetorical. The editors knew what it was doing - all in the yard the XXI century, as large numbers marked on the cover of the magazine. She knew that violates the copyright, know that this should be done surreptitiously. And it seems that the action resourceful audience of "Russian galleries XXI century" can patent as a kind of domestic know-how. As the author of these lines is not only an art historian, and expert-expert in the field of Russian avant-garde, the publication of illustrations in his works, as it automatically includes the paintings reproduced in the real legacy of the artist, of whose works are discussed in the text.

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And here my hair stand on end: in the magazine reprinted article 20 years ago, and during these years the number of my publications related to the history and artists of Russian avant-garde, more than two hundred. Many of the texts published in periodicals, catalogs, low-circulation academic collections, some exist only in translations into other languages. So what happens? Gradually the pirate way reprinted some article of mine illustrated by the work that I have never seen and do not bear any responsibility for them - and is ready, the legacy of a particular artist grows previously unknown works, the authenticity of which seemed to be confirmed me as the author of this article? I specifically explains this "invention" of an editorial board, and to her, and her eyes were opened masterminds: this action is not so harmless, it qualifies as a conscious use of another's name to mislead.

Administration gallery "last century", turning to me with the claim, apparently counting on my desire to get acquainted with the second, "paired" to "balalayka-player", work. Therefore, she alerted me about the publication. But if the gallery has not yet been incremental and previously unknown work? I so would never have learned about their happiness? The site of the journal "Russian Gallery XXI Century" in the list of the contents of this number does not mention my name as author of the article 'Interrupted flight ", so that on the Internet I would have never managed to catch" their "publication.

At the end of the open letter I want to thank the leadership of the gallery" Last Century "for information about" my article, "and the editorial board of Russian Gallery of XXI Century" and the directorate of the publishing group, which includes the magazine, reports the following: I have sent a statement of piracy of my work and flagrant violation of copyright law in the Russian copyright agency.

Doctor of Arts
Alexandra Shatskih
18 March 2010

Editorial: Text and illustrations are provided AI Alexandra Shatskih.