Among the works offered in support of Putin's aggression are alleged forgery of Kandinsky and NFT tokens of the coats of arms of Ukrainian cities.
On the fundraising site in support of Russia's war in Ukraine is offered a painting “House on the Mountain”, allegedly by Vasyl Kandinsky, provided by the Terricone project. The newly created Russian website, known as Art For Victory, owned by an organization known as the Terricon Project, supports the Russian war in Ukraine by selling works of art , some of which are counterfeits, according to The Art Newspaper./p>
A statement posted on the website explained that “after the imposition of sanctions against Russia, all available resources […] have been cut off. However, there is one available resource: cryptocurrency. Using it, the Russian diaspora can” help its people. ” The website also provides a vague description of who is behind the project: “The great Russian community, which includes a variety of people, from veterans and members of the militia to crypto-investors and IT professionals from California's sunny valleys.” p>
This “big Russian community” uses the website to sell a number of NFTs, including coats of arms of Ukrainian cities such as Odesa and Donetsk. According to the founders of the Terricon project, all these Ukrainian cities allegedly belong to Novorossiya. These NFTs failed to attract the attention of Putin's supporters, as there were no applications at the time of publication.
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Along with the NFT, a painting by Kandinsky Murnau (a series of similar paintings) “House on the Mountain”, attributed to Vasily Kandinsky from the Terricon Project, is offered. The work allegedly dates back to 1909 and is estimated at 8-10 million euros. However, proof of the authenticity of the work raises reasonable doubts.
The painting sold “To the Aid of Donbass” is provided with certificates of authenticity issued by the examination department of the Tretyakov Gallery. But in 2008, the Tretyakov Gallery conducted an internal investigation of its collection and found that 96 counterfeit paintings have certificates issued by the museum. The examination department was disbanded in 2016.
Valery Turchin, a Russian art historian who witnessed the forgery of Kandinsky's painting confiscated by the Italian police in 2011, recreated the canvas in his 2005 book Kandinsky in Russia. . The book caused a scandal and sharp criticism of the Kandinsky Society. Surprisingly, the Murnau landscape is not included in the catalog of paintings by the artist, whose authorship is considered confirmed.
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According to Terricon Project, Sotheby's estimated the canvas at 10 million euros. However, a Sotheby's spokesman told The Art Newspaper that the auction house “does not confirm the evaluation of the works of art without first inspecting them in person and establishing their authenticity.” The auction house is currently asking to remove the link from the Russian site.
Let us remind you that an exhibition of Ukrainian artists was recently opened at the Council of Europe Art Club.
