Poland intends to return a number of paintings exported after World War II

WARSAW. Polish Culture Minister Bogdan Zdroevsky said on Wednesday that Russia has yet to return several paintings captured by the Soviet Red Army at the end of World War II, including one painting by the Flemish artist Brueghel. Zdroevsky explained to reporters that of the 31 pieces of art that Poland claims to be today, 18 are in Russia, including such valuable ones as the landscape of Jan Brueghel the Elder, the Madonna and Child by the German Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder and a painting by a German artist Hans Holbein the Younger. All of them are currently in the collection of the Pushkin Museum of Moscow.

Lucas Cranach the Elder - Madonna and Child with John the Baptist (1529). The work, which is probably discussed in a statement by the Polish Minister of Culture.

Among other artifacts covered by the requirements of the Polish side are also coins of the Order of the Teutonic Knights, which asserted their authority on the Baltic Sea coast in the 13th century. Most of the objects of art were seized by German troops after the invasion of Poland in 1939, some of them were taken as military booty to the Soviet Union.

The question of restitution of objects of art was raised by Poland back in 2004, but Russia found the requirements unreasonable. According to experts, the "controversial" paintings are on the territory of our country on completely legitimate grounds.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru