Canvas Matisse returns to Venezuela 10 years after the theft

A painting by Henri Matisse, stolen from a museum in Caracas more than ten years ago, was returned to Venezuela on July 7. The Odalisque in Red Pants, written in 1925, estimated at $ 3 million, is believed to have been stolen from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Caracas in 2000, although the museum did not officially announce this, replacing the canvas with a replica in 2002.

Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

The painting was discovered by FBI undercover agents after two people tried to sell a work of art in 2012 at the Miami Beach Hotel. Pedro Antonio Marcuello Guzman and Maria Martha Elisa Ornelas Lazo were arrested and sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to transporting, storing, and attempting to sell the canvas.

The process of repatriating the painting was initiated by the United States in October last year, after the authenticity of the canvas was confirmed by the Venezuelan Authentication Committee and the director of archives Henri Matisse in Paris, Wanda de Gabrian (Wanda de Guébrian).

Venezuelan Chief Operating Officer Joel Espinoza traveled to South Florida as a state representative to get a job. However, according to sources in the Miami newspaper El Nuevo Herald, the incident with the return of the painting is still not exhausted. Despite the fact that it was proved that the work belongs to the Caracas Museum, the Venezuelan authorities could not explain how and when the canvas was stolen from the capital.

At the moment, the Venezuelan Ministry of Culture is refusing to comment on the situation, but a spokesman for the department told reporters that officials are waiting for the painting to be directly received by Venezuela in the near future, after which clarifications will be given.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru