“Ai-Petri. Crimea ” - a painting by the Russian artist Arkhip Kuindzhi (1841/1842–1910), written in the 1890s (the exact date is not set, earlier the time of its creation was attributed to the years 1898–1908). It is part of the collection of the State Russian Museum (Inv. G-1532). The size is 39 × 53 cm [1] .
Arkhip Kuindzhi | ||
Ai-Petri. Crimea 1890s | ||
Paper on canvas, oil . 39 × 53 cm | ||
State Russian Museum , St. Petersburg | ||
( inv. G-1532 ) |
In January 2019, she was abducted from a temporary exhibition of the artist in the State Tretyakov Gallery . After the operational activities of the police was found and returned to the exhibition.
Content
History and Description
Kuindzhi often visited Crimea , and in 1886 he acquired a part of the former estate of General Theodosius Revelioti . He also had an estate in Alupka and a dacha in the Tartir gully. In Crimea, Kuindzhi worked extensively on nature, painting landscapes of the peninsula. In the period from 1874 to 1898, he created several dozen works [2] , among which are: “Fishing in the Black Sea”, “Seashore. View of the mountain Demerdzhi "," Crimea. Yalta "," Sunflowers "," Clear water "," In the Crimea "and many others, including" Ai-Petri ". The exact time of creation of this picture is unknown: according to modern catalogs, it belongs to the 1890th year [1] . Ai-Petri is one of the mountains of the array, located near Yalta, its silhouette is one of the symbols of the Crimea.
In this work, Kuinji used shades of blue to create the effect of “color stretching” - a smooth transition from blue-black waves at the foot of the mountain to bright translucent skies [3] . This period also includes another picture, made in a similar color range - “Twilight at Sea. Crimea "(see illustration).
In 1914, the Moscow Society of Artists named after Kuindzhi planned to transfer the painting to the Mariupol Art Museum , but due to the First World and Civil War, the transfer of work did not take place [4] . Currently, the canvas is part of the collection of the State Russian Museum .
Theft
Since autumn 2018, the canvas was on a temporary exhibition at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. On January 27, 2019, the birthday of Arkhip Kuinji, she was abducted from the exhibition hall. In the eyes of visitors, 32-year-old Denis Chuprikov removed a picture from the wall, carried it behind the column, took it out of the frame, and then slowly followed the picture to the exit and drove away with it. Such an unceremonious theft from a state museum caused a wide public response [5] . The incident was compared with the plot of the film “ Old robbers ” [6] , whose heroes were also easily able to take a picture of Rembrandt from the museum, conspiracy theories [7] and many jokes [8] arose. Kuindzhi’s exhibition, which had been extremely popular before, had experienced a surge in attendance [9] .
It took the law enforcement agencies several hours to find and return the picture. The thief was detained the next morning in a rented apartment in the Zarechye village of the Odintsovo district, Moscow region [10] . After the arrest, the picture was found in the same village [11] , in the basement of the cottage under construction, where he was responsible for leading engineering communications. The offender was detained due to fingerprints, which he left on the frame of the picture. The prints were in the file, because in December 2018 Chuprikov was detained for drug possession (art. 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and at the time of the theft was under a written undertaking not to leave. In addition, two months before that, he was brought to administrative responsibility by a magistrate’s court (a fine of 1,000 rubles) for disobeying police officers who tried to bring him to the station because of aggression about the evacuation of his car. A native of the Crimean city of Theodosius Chuprikov - by education a welder and a mechanic. The theft, he said, committed spontaneously in order to pay off the debts [12] .
Art critics estimate the picture at 200 thousand US dollars, according to less reliable estimates, its cost can reach up to 1 million US dollars. The insurance value of the canvas for the period of transportation and installation [13] was 12 million rubles [2] (approximately 183 thousand dollars).
Implications
After finding the picture, the director of the department of museums of the Ministry of Culture, Vladislav Kononov, said that according to experts of the Republic of Moldova, the State Tretyakov Gallery and the State Research Institute of Radio and Technology, the state of the picture does not prevent its short-term display on condition that it is placed under glass, the picture returns to the exhibition at the Tretyakov Gallery and will be there until its end [14] .
After the theft, the Ministry of Culture announced the inspection of the security systems of the largest museums in Russia, and the administration of the Tretyakov Gallery announced that after the incident, the museum will equip with special sensors not only pictures of the main exhibition, but also temporary exhibitions [15] .
On February 11, 2019, Zelfira Tregulova, director of the Tretyakov Gallery, was reprimanded in connection with the theft by the Minister of Culture of Russia Vladimir Medinsky . It was also recommended by the department to dismiss the head of the security service, and also to reprimand the chief curator, the head of the exhibition department, the head of the museum supervisors department, the sector manager of the museum supervisors department and security officers [16] .
Also, the Ministry of Culture announced the decision to create a security department, which will oversee the preservation of museum collections. The new division will expand cooperation with Rosgvardia in developing common standards and approaches in ensuring security [17] .
Court
Chuprikov was arrested by the court until March 27, 2019, a criminal case was initiated under Part 2 of Art. 164 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (theft of items of particular value committed by a group of persons in a preliminary conspiracy) [18] . Chuprikov pleaded guilty [19] , said he wanted to attract attention [20] [21] .
On July 1, it became known that the materials of the criminal case were submitted to the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of the capital. During the preliminary investigation of the criminal case, two psychiatric examinations were carried out, which established the criminal responsibility of the attacker at the time of the crime. A comprehensive art history forensic examination was carried out, according to the conclusion that the cost of the stolen painting was estimated at almost 20 million rubles [22] .
See also
- Crimes in the field of art
- Old robbers
- Scam by Thomas Crown
- How to steal a million
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 The State Russian Museum - the collection catalog / G. N. Goldovsky , V. A. Lenyashin . - SPb. : Palace Editions, 2016. - V. 6: Paintings of the second half of the 19th century (K — M). - p. 87. - 176 p. - ISBN 978-5-93332-565-9 .
- ↑ 1 2 Return of the prodigal Kuindzhi: facts about the stolen picture, which will return to the Tretyakov Gallery . TASS (January 31, 2019). The appeal date is January 31, 2019.
- ↑ Kuindzhi A.I. - Ai-Petri . Encyclopedia of artists and their works Painteropedia.ru (September 19, 2014). The appeal date is January 31, 2019.
- Ай “Ai-Petri. Crimea”: the story of Kuinji’s stolen canvas . Information Agency RIA-News (January 28, 2019). The appeal date is January 31, 2019.
- ↑ Dmitry Bavyrin. The theft from the Tretyakov Gallery was underestimated as spitting in the face of the country and the people . Business newspaper "Vzglyad" (January 30, 2010). The appeal date is February 1, 2019.
- ↑ Anton Antonov. The Ministry of Culture compared the abduction of Kuindzhi’s painting with the plot of “Old Men-Brigands” . Business newspaper "Vzglyad" (January 27, 2019). The appeal date is January 31, 2019.
- ↑ Kuindzhi and conspiracy theories . Culturemania kulturomania.ru. The appeal date is February 13, 2019.
- ↑ Theft with conclusions // Kommersant.
- ↑ Abduction Kuindzhi enriches resellers // Kommersant.
- ↑ Alina Nazarova. A suspect in the theft of Kuindzhi's painting arrested . Business newspaper "Vzglyad" (January 28, 2019). The appeal date is January 31, 2019.
- ↑ Details of the theft of paintings from the Tretyakov Gallery: hid in his former place of work . www.mk.ru. The appeal date is July 3, 2019.
- ↑ Kuindzhi took without gloves // Kommersant.
- ↑ Police came to Kuindzhi exhibition // Kommersant.
- ↑ Painting by Kuindzhi “Ai-Petri. Crimea "will return to the Tretyakov Gallery . www.kommersant.ru (January 31, 2019). The appeal date is February 13, 2019.
- ↑ The Ministry of Culture will inspect security systems at the Tretyakov Gallery and leading federal museums . Official website of the Ministry of Culture of Russia (January 28, 2019). The appeal date is January 31, 2019.
- ↑ Medinsky reprimanded the director of the Tretyakov Gallery after stealing a painting by Kuinji . www.kommersant.ru (February 11, 2019). The appeal date is February 11, 2019.
- ↑ After the abduction of Kuindzhi's paintings in the Ministry of Culture, a new structure was created . Russian newspaper. The appeal date is July 3, 2019.
- ↑ Accused of kidnapping Kuindzhi's paintings sent to jail // Kommersant.
- ↑ The detainee for theft of the painting Kuinji pleaded guilty and explained his deed . Russian newspaper. The appeal date is July 3, 2019.
- ↑ ntv.ru. “I have a little hypnosis”: the thief of the picture Kuindzhi explained that he had pushed him to theft . NTV. The appeal date is July 3, 2019.
- ↑ The thief of the picture Kuindzhi: "I went to the Tretyakov Gallery with the help of hypnosis" . www.mk.ru. The appeal date is July 3, 2019.
- ↑ The case of the theft of Kuindzhi's painting came to court . Russian newspaper. The appeal date is July 3, 2019.