MINSK, 25 January (BelTA) – Ivan Shishkin's painting Forest recovered by police officers in Belarus has been sent to the National Art Museum for examination, Dmitry Monich, the chief custodian of the National Art Museum, told BelTA.
“The Belarusian Interior Ministry asked the National Art Museum to establish the authenticity of the paining. Now the experts are carrying out a number of examinations employing x-ray, chemical and visual techniques. They will compare it with other paintings by the Russian artist. Once the museum issues its verdict, the destiny of the masterpiece will be decided,” Dmitry Monich said.
The painting was seized during the arrest of members of a drug ring by officers of the department for drug control and combating human trafficking at the Interior Ministry of Belarus.
Ivan Shishkin's artwork Forest painted in 1897 and measuring 60 x 82 cm was stolen from the Vyazniki History and Art Museum in Vladimir Oblast, the Russian Federation in 2013. Back then the robbers stole several paintings by renowned 19th and 20th century Russian artists: Forest by Ivan Shishkin, Fisherman by Konstantin Korovin and First Snow by Stanislav Zhukovsky.
