The repatriation to Russia of the Morozov brothers' collection, currently on display in Paris, will be problematic due to transport restrictions linked to the Ukrainian conflict, the Russian ambassador to Paris said on Tuesday.
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"It's no secret given the current situation, given all the drastic measures that have been taken, including for example in relation to flights between Russia and France, that problems arise
," said Alexei Meshkov during of a press conference in Paris.
"We are currently working on the logistical arrangements to ensure the most secure return of this collection to Russia
," he added, saying, however,
"convinced that we will find a solution"
.
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In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the West has taken a series of sanctions against Russian officials and interests.
Flights have also been suspended between Russia and most European countries and road transport is also disrupted.
Protected by a decree of unseizability
The exhibition of the collection at the Louis-Vuitton Foundation, a victim of its own success, has been extended until April 3, when it was originally scheduled to end on February 22.
It had already welcomed
“a million visitors” at the
end of February and could exceed in terms of attendance that of another great Russian collector, Sergei Chtchoukine, who had attracted 1.29 million visitors between 2016 and 2017 to the private foundation, a record.
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About 200 works by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, Bonnard, Monet and Manet have been exhibited since September 22 alongside Russian painters such as Golovin, Gontcharova, Korovin, Mashkov, Maletitch, Melnikov, Repin, Serov.
These masterpieces were collected by the two brothers Mikhail and Ivan Morozov, industrialists passionate about modern art at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Asked about the possible seizure of the works in the context of Western sanctions, the Foundation has already argued that,
“as with any major loan of works of art, the collection is protected by an exemption from seizure”
.