The self-portrait of painter Piotr Konchalovski (1876-1956), exhibited for several months in Paris as part of the exhibition “La collection Morozov. Icons of Modern Art” (which closed at the Fondation Louis Vuitton on April 3) will not return to Russia. So decided the French Ministry of Culture, which announced on Saturday April 9 that it had “saisi [ce] painting belonging to Petr Aven, an oligarch targeted by the sanctions against Russia”reports the site Business Insider.
Pieces rarely exhibited abroad
The subject of much speculation since the outbreak of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the fate of the 200 modernist masterpieces in the Morozov collection seems to be gradually settling. With an estimated value today of 1.5 billion dollars (1.38 billion euros), this collection – which includes, among others, Van Goghs, Picassos, and even Matisses – comes mainly from museums. Russian state institutions, including the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow and the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.
As the specialized site reminds us Artnet, most of these parts only had “rarely, if ever, traveled outside of Russia”.
D’ap