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»Young woman with a plumed hat«: Titian picture was reclaimed from the Hermitage
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akg-images / picture alliance / akg-images
Two museums in Milan say they have to return works of art they have lent to Russia.
The St. Petersburg-based Hermitage has reclaimed, among other things, a painting by Titian that is part of a current exhibition, says Domenico Piraina, director of the Palazzo Reale.
"When I read the letter, I was bitter because culture should be protected from war," he explains.
"But these are difficult times."
The Gallerie d'Italia says it has received requests from three Russian museums to return 23 of a total of 200 works in an exhibition.
The request will be followed, it said.
The affected exhibition only runs until March 23.
The deduction hits the Palazzo Reale harder, the Titian exhibition there has just opened.
According to Italian newspapers, similar inquiries from Russia also reached the Casa Cavazzini in Udine and the Fendi Foundation in Rome.
At the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, works of French modernism from the collection of the manufacturer Ivan Morosow will be on display until the beginning of April.
Voices were raised in the French public to confiscate the works of art.
In Great Britain, too, there are discussions about the exhibition of Fabergé eggs, which are currently on loan to London's Victoria & Albert Museum.
feb/Reuters
