Claude Monet
Spring mood in Vétheuil. 1880
Source: artinfo.com

When the museum becomes an unknown with a proposal to present a picture of the XIX century, the staff did not immediately willing to believe in the sincerity of the giver. recall the story of the trickster Mark Landis, who lavished dozens of American museums in its" gifts ", but in fact fakes . Therefore, the curator of the Museum of Cologne Valrafa-Rihartsa Goetz Tsimmek (Götz Czymmek), which in 1991 asked an elderly woman who wished to donate to the museum painting by Claude Monet, with great apprehension reacted to its proposal.

Y daritelnitsy, on condition of anonymity, there was only one condition: Do not expose the work while she was alive. And since 1991, curator Tsimmek at least once a year received from the old woman's word to a short message: "I'm still alive !».

Daritelnitsa died recently, and now the museum can now display and publicize the history of its reception.

When curator Tsimmek came to the house late daritelnitsy, he discovered painting by Monet in a cardboard box. At first glance, he realized: the work of rare and valuable that it surprised many, especially since most give the work in a bad state that failed to sell. The old woman had left instructions that a man from the museum immediately took the painting with him. And Tsimmek went back to Cologne, added a Monet painting in the back seat.

Thus Museum Valrafa-Rihartsa added to his collection of paintings "Spring mood Vétheuil" 1880. Now in the collection of six paintings by Monet, but more recently they have counted to seven. In 2008 the museum staff learned that one of their paintings, donated in 1954, unfortunately, the forgery. But the authenticity of the Spring mood Vétheuil "Tsimmek sure. Persuaded his label gallery Berheim Jeune, who worked with the works of Monet.

However, in this story may emerge one unpleasant circumstance. The fact that the painting was purchased in 1940 - at a time when the Nazis illegally confiscated property of Jewish dealers and collectors, or forced them to sell. Zimmer does not exclude the possibility that this work was also once stolen. However, for several months have passed since the publication of pictures of her while nobody asked.

material was prepared by Maria Onuchina, AI

Source: artinfo.com , artinvestment.ru