2024-08-30 08:47:10
Well-known Prague gallerist Jan Třeštík is a defendant in a new case. According to the public prosecutor, he deprived the owner of the collection of dozens of valuable works by Alfons Mucha worth millions of crowns. This was confirmed to the editors by the judge who will handle the case. The prosecutor proposes jail time and a fine for the gallerist. He had previously been convicted of fraud with paintings worth hundreds of millions of crowns, but the sentence was overturned by the appeals instance.
Gallerist and trained lawyer Jan Třeštík was brought to the attention of the general public by the then governor of Central Bohemia, David Rath (ČSSD). Under extraordinary circumstances, in 2009 he entrusted him with the management of the Gallery of the Central Bohemian Region, which the then twenty-eight-year-old man turned into a respected institution for a time.
From Rath he got to know other prominent social democrats, including the later Minister of the Interior and party leader Jan Hamáček. When Třeštík opened the Hauch Gallery in Prague’s Karlín in 2016, it became the home scene for his distinctive paintings of the former head of parliament of the ANO movement, Jaroslav Faltýnek.
It was with Faltýnk and the then Minister of Health, Roman Prymula, that he met in October 2021 at a business in Vyšehrad during the strictest restrictions against covid. After the meeting, Prymula resigned. Since then, Třeštík has been stuck in one criminal case. And as judge Eva Švíglerová confirmed to the editors, the defendant is in the new.
Twenty-five of Mucha’s works
“The indictment accuses him of having approached the injured party, who was the owner of Alfons Mucha’s painting collection, with the intention of obtaining these works, and under the false pretext of organizing an exhibition in the premises of the Burgrave of Prague Castle, he handed over said works to another person,” the judge described the essence of Třeštík’s actions, who handles the case.
According to the prosecutor, Třeštík robbed the man of twenty-five works by Mucha, including paintings, posters and postcards worth 4.5 million crowns. He was supposed to lure them from their owner from April to July 2018. He is accused of fraud under the second most severe paragraph, which carries a sentence of up to eight years in prison.
The prosecutor is proposing a sentence of eight years. The public representative for the gallerist also requests a ban on activities in the statutory or control body in “a business corporation, including their representation on the basis of a power of attorney, for a period of 10 years and a fine of 200,000 crowns”. According to information from Aktuálně.cz, he was supposed to solve his financial problems by giving away Mucha’s works.
The editors could not be contacted by Třeštík despite repeated attempts. The gallerist didn’t pick up the phone, didn’t even respond to text messages. However, since he let the case go to trial and did not enter into a plea agreement with the prosecutor, it is obvious that he feels innocent. The first hearing at the District Court for Prague 1 was supposed to start on Wednesday, but it was postponed at the last minute.
“I never did anything illegal”
The proposed sentence is so severe because it also includes Třeštík’s previous case. In it, the Municipal Court in Prague sentenced him to eight years behind bars last September for embezzlement and fraud with art objects for more than 250 million crowns. The most striking part of the case is the purchase of a painting by the Russian master Wassily Kandinsky for a client, but he gave the painting to someone else.
“I never felt that I was doing anything that was illegal. I always did my profession the best I could. I never had any motive to embezzle or steal anything from anyone. You work with people’s trust. If you don’t have it, this profession cannot at all perform,” the gallerist defended himself.
He allegedly gave up the painting under duress in favor of an acquaintance who was blackmailing him. He should have pressured him to make the gallerist pay off his debt. The aforementioned painting was supposed to be part of the settlement. In July of this year, the High Court in Prague overturned the verdict, stating that part of it did not correspond to what was proven at the main trial. The file is still with the appeals instance.
However, Třeštík already has one valid verdict. In the spring of 2012, the municipal court in Prague found him guilty of attempting to illegally export a painting by Pablo Picasso. Customs officials detained the work at the border. But Třeštík left without punishment. According to the court, he received a sufficient lesson by being the defendant and the case was discussed publicly.