The main curator from MSU was questioned in the investigation of the falsified zenithists
They do not claim that the painting by Ljubisa Jocic from 1929 is a forgery
IN THE INVESTIGATION due to the suspicion that the Belgrade collector Sava Saronjic sold a forged painting “Self-portrait” by the zenithist Ljubisa Jocic to the Museum of Contemporary Art, the head of the curator of the Museum, Dr. Zoran Eric, was questioned in the Third Prosecutor’s Office. As Saronjic’s defense counsel Veselin Cerovic tells us, he stated that he could not claim that the painting was a forgery.
ARTISTS in this movement often knew how to refine their works
He said that at first they were not interested when Saronjic offered them the picture, but then they checked with several experts, determined that the signature on it was authentic and decided to buy it – Cerovic tells us. Eric said that they did not file any criminal charges because of that painting, but one day the police came, looking for “Autoportet” and 24 other works of zenithists, which Saronjic gave to the Museum and took everything away. They didn’t return those pictures, they are still with them.
Cerovic tells us that Eric confirmed that his client was one of the largest donors to the Museum of Contemporary Art and that they thanked him for it.
Answering questions, he also said that the avant-garde knew how to refine their works, so if they had done the painting in 1922, they would have added something to it 30 years later. They were inclined to change their images.
The suspect Sava Saronjic tells us that Eric’s words are important that the museum did not express doubts about the authenticity of the sold and donated paintings.
THE PROVES
Nanad Stojic, who is accused of handing over the painting by Mihail Petrov, which is also suspected to be not the original, to the auction house Madl-Art, which they sold for 11,000 euros, says that he had previously offered it and two others of the same rank. MSU for 5,000e, which they refused .:
I have now learned that the buyer of that painting has not filed a lawsuit against me at all. Everything that is happening now is related to the seizure of 31 works, which Saronjic put up for auction in 2016 at the house of Zisska & Lacher in Munich. German police seized them after a report by a gallery owner from Berlin, Berinson Hendrik, who, seeing only their photos, claimed that they were forgeries. When they checked and realized they were originals, they started a campaign to falsify the evidence because they would have to pay huge damage to the action house.
Otherwise, the investigation was launched after the signalization from Germany, to check those pictures. After taking the pictures, their expertise was done in Germany, after which it was determined that the alleged “Self-Portrait” and 13 other works out of 24 were donated – forgeries, because the colors on them did not exist at the time of their creation. The defense disputes the expertise and demands that something new be done in Serbia.
Transferred from “Novosti”, February 5, 2021.
