On May 6, stolen Verona paintings from the Castelvecchio Museum were discovered in the Odessa region. Ukrainian border guards, following a tip from the Italian police, found all 17 paintings that were sent by courier and hidden during the arrest of a gang of robbers in Chisinau.
Experts will tell us about the condition of the paintings, and measures are being taken to return them to Verona. Verona is preparing for a celebration in the city in honor of the return of its paintings to the Castelvecchio Museum.
The beginning of 2016 is distinguished by a rich catch; not only Verona paintings were seen by Ukraine. In March 2016, 4 paintings were discovered, out of 24 stolen from the Dutch Hoorn Museum in January 2005. The first of them, A Play in the Kitchen, by Floris Van Schouten of the 17th century, was taken by three Ukrainians to Berlin, where they were detained. The story is dark, the Dutch accused Ukrainian politicians of having stolen paintings, and there were ransom demands. Only 4 paintings are ready to return to the Holland Museum. The fate of another 20 paintings and 70 silver items stolen more than 10 years ago is still unknown.
Kitchen Play, 17th century, Floris van Schouten - returned to the Horn Museum
The Odessa Art Museum was repeatedly robbed.
2005 year
A thief stole Aivazovsky's painting sea view 1865.On a weekend in June 2005, an attacker broke a window, climbed into the hall on the second floor and stole a painting, which is small in size: 30 by 39 cm. A year later, the work of a marine painter was discovered in the possession of a 37-year-old resident of Alexandria, Kirovograd region, who was engaged in theft antiques.
Saint Luke, 17th century, Frans Halsem, Odessa Museum, Ukraine
Seascape Aivazovsky 1865 returned to the Museum, but is in storage; it was not exhibited for unknown reasons. The painting has an inscription by the artist in Italian; photographs have not been published.
1965
For a long time, a painting by an anonymous Russian artist was kept in the storerooms of the Museum of Western and Eastern Art in Odessa. In the 50s of the last century it was determined that the canvas Saint Luke written in the 17th century by a Fleming Fransem Halsem. At an exhibition in Moscow in 1965, the painting of St. Luke was stolen by a restorer; a year later it was found and returned to Odessa. The thief was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Filmed based on this crime famous movie Return of Saint Luke.
2008
A work by Caravaggio was stolen from the Odessa Museum - The only job artist in Ukrainian collections. On July 31, 2008, a lone thief entered the museum through a window, cut a painting from its frame, and escaped through the roof. The crime was successful because the museum had almost no security system. Meanwhile, the stolen masterpiece was estimated to be worth up to $100 million.
Kiss of Judas, Caravaggio, 1598-1602?, Odessa Museum, Ukraine
The canvas in the Odessa Museum is one of the versions of the painting and dates back to approximately 1598 - 1602. Its cost is about 60 million euros, but its authorship is constantly discussed and questioned. More known version Taking Christ into custody dates back to 1602 and is in the Irish National Gallery in Dublin. Early version purchased in Paris by the Russian ambassador to France and presented it to Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. After the revolution, the painting was transferred to Odessa art school, from where it ended up in the Museum of Western and Eastern Art.
The thieves recently tried to sell the painting, stolen in 2008 in Odessa, in Berlin, where they were arrested. 4 arrests in Germany, 20 in Ukraine, and the painting returned to its rightful place - in the Odessa Museum.
Michelangelo Merisi from Caravaggio (1571 — 1610)
The Kiss of Judas or the Taking of Christ into custody , 1602, oil on canvas, 133.5 by 169.5 cm
Irish National Gallery, Dublin
Kiss of Judas, Caravaggio, 1602, Dublin Gallery, Ireland
The painting was commissioned by Ciriaco Maffei to the artist Caravaggio in Rome. The Customer's brother, Cardinal Girolamo Maffei, suggested the artist the subject and iconography for the future painting. On January 2, 1603, Caravaggio received 125 crowns for the completed work.
The composition on the canvas is presented horizontally. In the center there are two main characters - Jesus and Judas. The captive Jesus is in the grip of the traitor Judas, followed by the fleeing Saint John, whose face is distorted by a cry. He anticipates the suffering of Jesus that will inevitably follow his arrest. On the right, a young character with a lamp illuminating the action scene attracts attention. Many experts are confident that this is the face of the artist himself - his self-portrait among the characters on the presented scene - in the form of Diogenes. The lantern in his hand is an allegory of the search for the truth of faith. The dynamism of the scene is enhanced by the reflection of light on the chain mail of the guards.
Only in 1990, after a thorough restoration of the canvas Kiss of Judas the curator of the Dublin gallery suggested that this was a painting by Caravaggio. After cleaning and restoration, a true masterpiece of the master of painting emerged, and tireless searches in the archives of the Maffei family in Recanati discovered an entry in an old expense journal about the payment of money to the artist Caravaggio for the painting. All doubts about authorship have disappeared.
There are 12 known paintings with a similar plot; many copies were made by the authors themselves when the painting was in demand. For a long time, the painting in the Odessa Museum of Art was considered the original, and the Dublin one was considered a copy. It is difficult to say what was painted by the artist earlier and what later, because in such cases we are talking about one or two years of difference between the paintings. This can only be determined with the help of archives; examinations are unlikely to help. About Andrea Mantegna's masterpiece Holy family, discovered in the Odessa region, read the article
His skill in operating with light and applying shadows, as well as maximum realism combined with the tragic expression of the characters, bring the master to the fore. Caravaggio received recognition during his lifetime. The popular artist was invited to paint canvases by the rich and powerful families of Italy. He had his own students and followers who tried to paint in the same manner. They are called "Caravaggists". This inheritance gave rise to a large number of supposedly “author’s copies”. And the painting “The Kiss of Judas” is no exception. Happened to one of them interesting story in Odessa. Read about it, as well as about the original painting, in this article.
The theme of the taking of Christ into custody
In the Middle Ages, frescoes and church paintings were the “Bible for the illiterates.” But the accounts of the Gospels differ about the last days of Christ. John claims that Jesus Himself went out to meet the armed detachment and asked: “Whom are you looking for?” And when He identified himself, those who came to arrest Him “fell to the ground” (John 18:6). The other three evangelists tell a very different story. A detachment of soldiers was brought to Judah. There were no documents with photographs at that time, and Christ looked similar in appearance to James the Younger (in the Gospels he is also called the brother of Jesus). Therefore, the agreement was this: whoever Judas kisses must be arrested. Many artists have addressed this theme of betrayal, starting with Giotto. The fresco of this master in Padua became a Christian example. This is how the tradition arose of depicting Judas always in profile and with a black halo. But Caravaggio’s painting makes us take a different look at the events that happened two thousand years ago.
History of writing
Around 1602, the aristocratic Roman family of Mattei invited an artist who was fashionable at that time. The family owned a small art gallery. The merchants wanted to get the creation of the popular master at any cost. Caravaggio settled in the Mattei Palace and received a deposit for the work. The theme for the painting was presumably ordered by one of the members of the family - Cardinal Girolamo. And it was written in record short term- in just thirty days. But the master also received an unprecedented fee for his work - one hundred and twenty-five crowns. Caravaggio's painting "The Kiss of Judas" has long been a jewel in the Mattei family collection. It is known that the master made handwritten copies of his successful works. In addition, the students of his school echoed him. Now there are twelve paintings that replicate the original.
Composition of the painting “The Kiss of Judas”
Caravaggio's painting is painted on an elongated canvas. The artist’s innovation is manifested in the fact that the figures of people are depicted not in full height, but three quarters. Caravaggio remains true to himself in playing with light. The main glow comes from a source invisible to the viewer, which is located in the upper left corner. But there is also a smaller light - a lantern held by the young man on the right. Two sources, echoing each other in the darkness of the night, give the whole action a special tragedy. One of Judas's arms is somewhat shortened. This is immediately noticeable, since the rest of the figures are made with amazing realism. Insufficient artist skill? Art critics believe that this is a deliberate step. So the artist wanted to show the moral ugliness of a man who raised his hand against his Teacher. That is why the name of the painting is not “The Taking of Christ into Custody”, but “The Kiss of Judas”. Caravaggio's painting focuses specifically on the theme of betrayal. Last days Jesus fades into the background.
Caravaggio's painting: lost and found again
The Mattei family owned the painting for about two hundred years. Over time, fashion changed, brutal realism and the whirlwind of baroque passions gave way to idealistic compositions copying antiquity from the era of classicism. The painting by Caravaggio has lost its authorship in the documents of the Mattei family. When the descendants of this family began to experience financial difficulties, they decided to sell this painting. The painting was bought by member of the English Parliament Hamilton Nisbet as a work by Gerard van Honthorst. In 1921, the last representative of this Scottish family died, and the canvas under the same authorship was bought at auction by John Kemp. He resold it to Irishwoman Maria Lee-Wilson, who in 1934 donated the painting to the Jesuit consistory in Dublin. Since the painting needed restoration, the monks invited specialist Sergio Benedetti from the National Gallery of Ireland to do this work. He identified the true author. Now the canvas can be seen in Dublin, in the National Gallery.
Odessa copy
When was the fashion for Michelangelo Caravaggio, the paintings of this master were copied both by himself and by his students and followers. The sample, kept in the collection of the Museum of Western European and Oriental Art in Odessa, was ordered by the brother of the owner of the original, Asdrubale Mattei. This is evidenced by the entry in his accounting documents. Ten years after the death of the famous master, he paid for the copying of his creation by Giovanni di Atilli. Having acquired the painting from the Mattei family, he insisted that it was an original. This was probably the reason for the theft. The Odessa painting was stolen in July 2008. However, two years later the painting was seized from the hands of criminals in Berlin.
Mysteries of the painting
It is fraught with many secrets that have not yet been revealed by researchers. And “The Kiss of Judas” is no exception. It is believed that in one of the characters, a man with a lantern in his hands, the artist captured himself. And in this self-portrait there is nothing of vain vanity. Rather, on the contrary: the artist promotes the idea that all humanity, and he too, are guilty of the Passion of Christ.
March 5, 2015Michelangelo Caravaggio is a Baroque artist. His skill in operating with light and applying shadows, as well as maximum realism combined with the tragic expression of the characters, bring the master to the fore. Caravaggio received recognition during his lifetime. The popular artist was invited to paint canvases by the rich and powerful families of Italy. He had his own students and followers who tried to paint in the same manner. They are called "Caravaggists". This inheritance gave rise to a large number of supposedly “author’s copies.” And the painting “The Kiss of Judas” is no exception. An interesting story happened to one of them in Odessa. Read about it, as well as about the original painting, in this article.
The theme of the taking of Christ into custody
In the Middle Ages, frescoes and church paintings were the “Bible for the illiterates.” But the accounts of the Gospels differ about the last days of Christ. John claims that Jesus Himself went out to meet the armed detachment and asked: “Whom are you looking for?” And when He identified himself, those who came to arrest Him “fell to the ground” (John 18:6). The other three evangelists tell a very different story. A detachment of soldiers was led to the Garden of Gethsemane by Judas. There were no documents with photographs at that time, and Christ looked similar in appearance to James the Younger (in the Gospels he is also called the brother of Jesus). Therefore, the agreement was this: whoever Judas kisses must be arrested. Many artists have addressed this theme of betrayal, starting with Giotto. The fresco of this master in Padua became a Christian example. This is how the tradition arose of depicting Judas always in profile and with a black halo. But Caravaggio’s painting makes us take a different look at the events that happened two thousand years ago. 
History of writing
Around 1602, the aristocratic Roman family of Mattei invited an artist who was fashionable at that time. The family owned a small art gallery. The merchants wanted to get the creation of the popular master at any cost. Caravaggio settled in the Mattei Palace and received a deposit for the work. The theme for the painting was presumably ordered by one of the members of the family - Cardinal Girolamo. And it was written in record time - in just thirty days. But the master also received an unprecedented fee for his work - one hundred and twenty-five crowns. Caravaggio's painting "The Kiss of Judas" has long been a jewel in the Mattei family collection. It is known that the master made handwritten copies of his successful works. In addition, the students of his school echoed him. Now there are twelve paintings that replicate the original. 
Video on the topic
Composition of the painting “The Kiss of Judas”
Caravaggio's painting is painted on an elongated canvas. The artist’s innovation is manifested in the fact that the figures of people are depicted not in full height, but in three-quarters. Caravaggio remains true to himself in playing with light. The main glow comes from a source invisible to the viewer, which is located in the upper left corner. But there is also a smaller light - a lantern held by the young man on the right. Two sources, echoing each other in the darkness of the night, give the whole action a special tragedy. One of Judas's arms is somewhat shortened. This is immediately noticeable, since the rest of the figures are made with amazing realism. Insufficient artist skill? Art critics believe that this is a deliberate step. So the artist wanted to show the moral ugliness of a man who raised his hand against his Teacher. That is why the name of the painting is not “The Taking of Christ into Custody”, but “The Kiss of Judas”. Caravaggio's painting focuses specifically on the theme of betrayal. The last days of Jesus fade into the background.
Caravaggio's painting: lost and found again
The Mattei family owned the painting for about two hundred years. Over time, fashion changed, brutal realism and the whirlwind of baroque passions gave way to idealistic compositions copying antiquity from the era of classicism. The painting by Caravaggio has lost its authorship in the documents of the Mattei family. When the descendants of this family began to experience financial difficulties, they decided to sell this painting. The painting was bought by member of the English Parliament Hamilton Nisbet as a work by the Dutch artist Gerard van Honthorst. In 1921, the last representative of this Scottish family died, and the canvas under the same authorship was bought at auction by John Kemp. He resold it to Irishwoman Maria Lee-Wilson, who in 1934 donated the painting to the Jesuit consistory in Dublin. Since the painting needed restoration, the monks invited specialist Sergio Benedetti from the National Gallery of Ireland to do this work. He identified the true author. Now the canvas can be seen in Dublin, in the National Gallery. 
Odessa copy
When there was a fashion for Michelangelo Caravaggio, the paintings of this master were copied both by himself and by his students and followers. The sample, kept in the collection of the Museum of Western European and Oriental Art in Odessa, was ordered by the brother of the owner of the original, Asdrubale Mattei. This is evidenced by an entry in his accounting documents. Ten years after the death of the famous master, he paid the Italian artist Giovanni di Atilli to copy his creation. The Odessa Museum, having acquired the painting from the Mattei family, insisted that it was an original. This was probably the reason for the theft. The Odessa painting was stolen in July 2008. However, two years later the painting was seized from the hands of criminals in Berlin.
Mysteries of the painting
Caravaggio's work is fraught with many secrets that have not yet been revealed by researchers. And “The Kiss of Judas” is no exception. It is believed that in one of the characters, a man with a lantern in his hands, the artist captured himself. And in this self-portrait there is nothing of vain vanity. Rather, on the contrary: the artist promotes the idea that all humanity, and he too, are guilty of the Passion of Christ.
Plot
Story
The painting was created by the artist at the request of his regular client Chiriaco Mattei. The painting was believed to have disappeared in the 18th century. In 1990, the lost masterpiece was identified by the Irish National Gallery's chief conservator Sergio Benedetti in a painting hanging in the Society of Jesus in Dublin. The discovery was published in 1993. Benedetti identified the painting and cleaned it up.
The painting, which hung in the Jesuit refectory since the early 1930s, was long considered a copy of a lost original by Gerard van Honthorst, one of the Dutch Caravaggists. With this attribution she came from the legacy of the Mattei family, who sold her as Honthorst in 1802 to William Hamilton Nisbet, in whose Scottish home she remained until 1921. She was then sold to Irish pediatrician Maria Leigh-Wilson, who donated her in the 1930s ( probably in 1934), to the Dublin Jesuits in gratitude for their support following the murder of her husband Captain Percival Leigh-Wilson by the Irish Republican Army in 1920.
At the moment, the Jesuits have provided the painting to the gallery on perpetual loan.
Repetition in Odessa
The Odessa painting required restoration after its return
The painting "The Kiss of Judas" was stolen from Odessa Museum Western European and Eastern Art July 30, 2008. For a long time it was considered an author’s repetition or even an original (with which the Dublin Museum vehemently disagreed).
It was discovered in Berlin. On July 25, the federal criminal police detained 4 members of an international gang (1 Russian and 3 Ukrainians). About 20 more possible accomplices of the theft were arrested in Ukraine. The canvas was found when thieves tried to transfer the purchase to an underground collector. The crime was solved thanks to the introduction of a “millionaire” straw buyer.
In 2012, the Ukrainian museum agreed that their “Kiss of Judas” was not the author’s repetition of the Dublin painting. Ukrainian experts announced that now, after research, they agree with this fact, which representatives of the Irish museum had previously insisted on. Deputy Director of the National Research Center for Restoration Tatyana Bychko, in whose department the painting is now located, told reporters that they had to go to the Hermitage to establish the truth. The St. Petersburg Museum has its own original of the great Italian (the famous “Lute Player”), in 1954 it was involved in the restoration of “The Kiss of Judas” in Grabar’s workshops and confirmed this assumption. Most likely, the picture was painted Italian artist Giovanni di Atilli 10 years after the death of Caravaggio. It was ordered by the brother of the owner of the original “Kiss”: the names of the brothers are Chiaracco and Adsrubale Mattei (the fact that such work was done is evidenced by entries in his ledger). St. Petersburg experts clearly state that the painting is not original. The manner of its writing is noticeably different from the manner of Caravaggio. This became clear after a careful examination of the x-rays.
The painting required significant restoration.
In the summer of 2012 the director Pushkin Museum Irina Antonova at the opening of the exhibition “The Return of St. Luke. Western European painting VI-XVIII centuries from museums of Ukraine", where 100 masterpieces from Ukrainian museums were presented (including the subject of another high-profile theft - St. Luke (painting by Hals)), said that the Odessa "Caravaggio" was planned to participate in the exhibition, but since its authorship was revised and was not included in the list of exhibits.
Notes
Categories:
- Paintings by Caravaggio
- Stolen paintings
- Pictures in alphabetical order
- 17th century paintings
- Paintings based on scenes from the New Testament
- Judas Iscariot
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After crying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ descends from the mountain and at this time the guards appear, and with them Judas Iscariot. He told the guards, “Whoever I kiss is Jesus.” Judas kissed Jesus, betraying him, after which Jesus Christ was arrested. For this Judas received 30 pieces of silver.
In Russian culture :
Precedent situation Betrayal of Judas.
Judas- symbol of betrayal ( For example : You are a real Judas, you deceived and betrayed me).
Thirty pieces of silver– situation attribute ( Why did you decide to go over to the side of my enemies? For 30 pieces of silver? Did they pay you?).
Hang on an aspen tree- an attribute of the situation (according to legend, Judas, after the betrayal of Jesus Christ, hanged himself on an aspen tree.
Kiss of Judas– Judas betrays Jesus Christ to the guards, kissing him on the cheek so that they understand that this is Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Peter, as Jesus Christ predicted in the Last Supper, also denied Jesus three times even before the first rooster, saying that he did not know him (A.P. Chekhov in the story “The Student” compares the act of his student hero with the act of Peter, who repents of having betrayed his teacher) (Chekhov “Student”).
ICON"The Last Supper, Washing of the Feet, Prayer for the Cup, Tradition Judas"Double-sided icon-tablet Late XV - early XVI centuries. 24 = 19.5 cm Novgorod.
Nikolay Ge. Conscience. Judas. (1891 ).
Nikolay Ge. "Conscience. Judas" (1891). Judas here is no longer the same as in the work “The Last Supper” of 1863. Pitiful, as if diminished, he stands on the road and watches as the guards take away the One Whom he betrayed. At first Ge thought about how to convey the face of Judas, and then decided to show him from the back. Here is what the artist himself said about this: “The face of Judas is not important (...) It is impossible to understand Judas if his crime is not before us, the meaning of which for him is moving away from the Ideal.”
M. Caravaggio. Taking Christ into custody (kissing Judas)
circa 1598, Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland
Christ on trial before Pontius Pilate (“Behold the man”).
The guards arrested Jesus, who was feared by the Old Testament priests and King Herod of Judea, and brought him to trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator (governor) in Judea. Pontius Pilate talked with Jesus for a long time, and then said that Jesus was not guilty of anything and wanted to let him go. But the high priests raised the people against Jesus and began to demand that he be crucified on a shameful wooden cross along with two thieves. Pontius Pilate said famous phrase: “I am not guilty of the blood of this righteous man” and sent him to be crucified.
Nikolay Ge."What is truth?" Christ and Pilate
Bright sunlight illuminates the figure of the Roman procurator in Jude e e P O ntia Peel A ta. Pilate asks questions of Jesus. Christ, exhausted by torture, stands with his hands tied against the wall - the artist raises the historical theme of the lack of rights of the people before the authorities. The color of the picture is based on the contrast of dark and bright spots. The unpleasant figure of the judge, Pontius Pilate, is highlighted in bright colors, but all the sympathies of the audience are on the side of the suffering, but not broken Jesus. The artist emphasizes the superiority of the rejected individual over the authorities (the theme of people and power, relevant for the end of the 19th century).
However, the Bible tells the story of the trial of Jesus Christ differently. According to the Gospel of John, it was Pontius Pilate who recognized the innocence of Jesus Christ at the trial, calling Him not the self-proclaimed king of the Jews and not a man who considers himself God, as He was accused of, but simply a man. At the trial, Pontius Pilate uttered the famous phrase: “ This man » - « This is a man" ("Here is a man" ), in Latin - Ecce Homo. It was with these words that the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, showed the people of Jerusalem Jesus Christ, weak and beaten, dressed in scarlet and crowned with a crown of thorns (crown of suffering), wanting to arouse the compassion of the crowd for him.
On this day, Good Friday, Jesus Christ was crucified.
In world art, this biblical story is being actively developed, where it was important to show the suffering of Jesus Christ as a man. In particular, in Caravaggio’s painting, which is called “Behold the Man.”
« This is the man" Caravaggio , OK. 1605, Palazzo Rosso , Genoa
Jesus is depicted suffering, wearing a crown of thorns, digging into his skin with thorns, bloodied after scourging, in his hands a scepter (here a cane stick), on his shoulders a purple robe (royal symbols). The scene features Pontius Pilate pointing to Jesus Christ and saying the phrase “Behold the man.” His hands are folded like a cross, tied with rope. The expression of Christ's face was a problem for artists - they sought to convey his clinging to his enemies (in the Early Renaissance he could cry). Caravaggio shows His resignation to fate, loneliness, suffering, but also strength of will.