A painting by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, who disappeared from Germany during World War II, has been seized in Moscow after a decades-long dispute with Russia.
The oil painting "Tarquin and Lucrece" (1610-11) was probably acquired by King Frederick I of Prussia and hung in a gallery of the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, before the war. It was moved to Rheinsberg Palace in 1942 to protect it from damage, but was removed from the palace in 1945. The painting depicts the mythological rape of a Roman noblewoman before her subsequent suicide and is considered one of the most significant works still missing from history. Sanssouci gallery.
The Stiftung Preussische Schlösser und Gärten, a public foundation created after German reunification in 1994 that manages historic buildings in the area, said in a press release that the work was seized following an official request for legal assistance and high-level diplomacy with the Russia.
“This is the first step towards recovering this highly important masterpiece not only for Prussian palaces, but also for the entire art world,” said the foundation's director general, Hartmut Dorgerloh, in a statement, thanking the Russian authorities.
The news came after German broadcaster “Deutsche Welle” reported that the Potsdam Regional Court in Germany ruled that Russian businessman Vladimir Logvinenko 'is not the owner of the painting' in an appeal he made in 2021 for his rights to painting were recognized.
The German court said the legal dispute was subject to Russian law, not German law, but made its decision based on “relevant Russian law,” noting that Logvinenko did not acquire it through a legal transaction or in good faith, and did not inherit it.
Logvinenko acquired the painting in 1999 and restored it, DW reported. The impasse between Logvinenko and the German foundation only appears to have started in 2003, when the “Chicago Tribune” reported that a Russian had sent an email asking SPSG if it would like to have the painting back. The Russian dealer reportedly hoped to secure 25% of the painting's value, estimated at the time at around $90 million, transferred to a Swiss bank account.
“When we received the email, it was a big surprise because we had no idea the painting still existed,” Dorgerloh said at the time. “Our first response was that we were very, very interested.”
Russian authorities reportedly confiscated the work but did not hand it over to their German counterparts. The following year, the “Guardian” reported that the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation ruled that Logvinenko was the rightful owner because he did not violate any Russian laws in acquiring it.
It is not yet known when the painting will be repatriated to Germany.
Source: Artnet News