The painting "The Kiss of Judas", stolen and returned to the Odessa museum is not the work of Caravaggio
ARTinvestment.RU   19 января 2012

"This is the conclusion Ukrainian experts, who hoped earlier that the masterpiece was painted by the great master" - writes the Ukrainian newspaper "Today"

segodnya.ua

Cloth "Judas Kiss" and "Taking Jesus into custody," stolen July 31, 2008 from the Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern art and found only 2 years later, in June 2010 in Germany, not the author's copy of Caravaggio. This fact is recognized Ukrainian experts earlier to hope that the masterpiece was painted by the great master, - wrote Ukrainian newspaper" Today » .

How to tell the publication of Deputy Director, National Research Centre for Restoration , where is the picture, Tatyana Bychko, "to establish the authorship of the picture we have consulted with experts, went to the Hermitage. There is every reason to believe that this picture was painted by Italian artist Giovanni di Attila, 10 years after the death of Michele da Caravaggio. Customers like the original paintings by Caravaggio, and a copy of the brush Attila were siblings: Chiarakko and Adsrubale Mattei. painting, stolen from the Odessa Museum, had already restored in 1954 at the Hermitage, in the workshops Grabar. Therefore, there is very definitely say that this is not by Caravaggio. This picture is familiar to them. The manner of writing is markedly different from the manner of Caravaggio. It became apparent after a careful study of X-rays. Even outwardly Odessa copy of "The Kiss of Judas" looks coarser than the original in Dublin. Second, it has traced the history of painting before she came to Russia. "According to Tatyana Bychko, author of" Odessa "," Kiss of Judas "- Giovanni di Attila, known only to the job-copy.

By the way, that Odessa "Caravaggio" is actually a copy, already expressed by experts from Germany and Italy. In their view, this picture can be worth from 200 to 500 thousand euros. It is interesting that even the police still do not know about the true value of the stolen and found again the canvas. According to investigators, the canvas is estimated at ... 900 000 hryvnia (about 112 thousand dollars. - AI .). And on various departmental web sites of MIA of Ukraine price "taking into custody of Christ," ranging from 100 million to 50 million euros!

In turn, the director of the museum, Vladimir Ostrovsky robbed remains of the opinion that the stolen painting - Caravaggio author's copy. "By the restoration of" The Taking of Christ in custody "have not started - until the picture is in the status of physical evidence in the case of theft, - said Vladimir newspaper. - And according to the law on the canvas can not be done any action. But I have hope that the picture be restored by September 2012. It we received a very serious proposal from the largest museum in central Russia - Pushkin Museum of Fine - put on canvas exhibition of works by Caravaggio ».

According deputy director of the National Research Center Restoration Tatiana Bychko restore the canvas for a short time impossible: "We need to stick together all the threads of the canvas - the thieves savagely cut out a picture of the stretcher. It is necessary to connect the remnants of cloth and fix the cracks in the canvas».

Meanwhile, investigation of theft of Odessa "Caravaggio" with time acquires volumes of the case (in consequence of their more than 10) and the persons involved. "The case has been held for more than 200 people. The result proved that the thieves had stolen Caravaggio, belonged to a gang of kidnappers largest antiques" - told the director of the Odessa Museum of Vladimir Ostrovsky. < , ...> Total amount of material damage from the activities of gangs of thieves, including the painting "The Kiss of Judas," according to the investigation of more than 3 million hryvnia (about 373 thousand dollars. - AI .).

Sibirtsev Alexander

Source: segodnya.ua