STOLEN PAINTING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23431, 22 August 1939, Page 10

STOLEN PAINTING

PARIS DEVELOPMENT SELF-STYLED THIEF v surrender to police PICTURE IN A PARCEL LONDON, Aug. IS A ' poor Russian painter, Scvge David Boguslavsky, walked into the Law Courts to-day and declared that he was the man who stole Watteau's painting "L'lndifferent," valued at £-23,000, from the Louvre Gallery in broad daylight one day last June, says a message from Paris. Before Boguslavsky arrived at tho Palais de Justice, anonymous telephone calls had warned the newspapers that something sensational was about to happen there. After waiting for two hours, a crowd of reporters and photographers saw four leading lawyers approaching, accompanied by a man carrying a parcel. One of the lawyers announced that Boguslavsky had stolen "L'lndifferent" and was returning it. There, were shouts of surprise. Flashlights flared. Cameras clicked. Boguslavsky smiled proudly. He made a long statement. " Frame In Bad Taste " "I have always been revolted at tho way in which masterpieces have been handled on tho pretext of being restored, '' said Boguslavsky. "I visited the picture day after day, always detaching a little of tho supporting wire. Then, on Juno 11, I unhooked it and walked out after wrapping it in an evening paper. "I broke the original frame and burned it because it was in singularly bad taste. I restored the painting, erasing the Diabolo. It is for the love of art that I have acted. As for going to prison, it is to me a matter of—indifference."

Boguslavsky, who sleeps on a carpet in an attic, said he had studied restoration and had written a book on the subject. An examination by experts suggests that Boguslavsky was correct when he declared that the Diabolo was not painted by Watteau, but was inserted by an alien hand.

Doubt as to Authenticity of Painting

Boguslavsky, who was charged with theft, was sent to the Sante prison. Doubt has been raised as to whether, after all, the Louvro has recovered the original Watteau materpiece, or whether it has been altered or whether a copy has been substituted. The experts are divided 011 the authenticity of the picture which the self-styled thief handed over. The correspondent of the Daily lelegraph in Paris says that most of the experts, including the Louvre's curator, M. Carle Dreyfus, regard the painting as the authentic <r L'lndifferent," but others are sceptical. •Accused Never Studied Art A decision will be made by the Ministry of Fine Arts. Art circles are indignant at Boguslavsky's allegation of slipshod "restorations" of paintings and demand that he be given the maximum sentence of five years. The man's parents declare that he never studied art and is only a secondrate painter. They are not interested in his escapade or in the consequences to him. . 1 The police are seeking a woman with whom a man resembling Boguslavsky was seen at the time of the theft. A judge has appointed two doctors to determine Boguslavsky's mental condition. Boguslavsky's lawyers said the order was an insult to a man who had acted from the highest motives of art.