The "Ai-Petri. Crimea" painting by prominent Russian landscape artist Arkhip Kuindzhi, which was stolen on Sunday but promptly recovered, went back on display at Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery exhibition of Kuindzhi's artworks on Friday, a Sputnik correspondent said
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2019) The "Ai-Petri. Crimea" painting by prominent Russian landscape artist Arkhip Kuindzhi, which was stolen on Sunday but promptly recovered, went back on display at Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery exhibition of Kuindzhi's artworks on Friday, a Sputnik correspondent said.
On Thursday, Vladislav Kononov, the head of the museum department of the Russian Culture Ministry, told Sputnik that the painting would return to the temporary exhibition on Friday and remain on display there until February 17, the last day of the exhibition. Kononov added that the painting would be put under glass and protected by an alarm system.
At around 10 a.m. Moscow time (07:00 GMT), the first visitors started to enter the museum. The line to get into the museum is reportedly quite long, given the popularity of the exhibition.
The museum attendant who was present in the gallery when the painting was stolen has quit, the press service of the Tretyakov Gallery told Sputnik on Friday.
On Sunday, the painting depicting the Ai-Petri peak in the Crimean mountains was taken off the museum wall in plain view of the gallery visitors. The police recovered the artwork in the Moscow Region and detained a suspect, who faces up to 15 years in prison.
According to the Russian Culture Ministry, the insurance value of the painting amounts to 12 million rubles (over $182,000).
Since there are minor scuffs on the painting, a decision on its restoration will be made after it returns to the State Russian Museum of St. Petersburg, where it is usually stored.
