Le 24 mai 2018, The port of La Rochelle was leaving its home port: the Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy (MBAN). Fly. The painting by the landscape designer Paul Signac, owned by the city of Nancy since the 1960s, – an oil dated 1915 (46 x 55 cm) – had been taken from its exhibition wall. Only the canvas had been surgically cut before being taken away. The work was estimated at 1.5 million euros.
–
PJ and OCBC investigation
François Pérain, public prosecutor of Nancy, then entrusted the investigation to the SRPJ of Nancy (today called the Territorial Directorate of the Judicial Police, DTPJ) and to the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Goods (OCBC) . Investigations are still ongoing to try to find the perpetrator (s) of the theft committed in Nancy.
–
In 2019, the case had a major twist in Ukraine with the arrest, in Kiev, of three individuals suspected of being involved in the murder of the owner of a jewelry business. And one of the arrested was in possession of Signac’s painting stolen from Nancy …
Judicial information was open to the Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction of Nancy (JIRS) in order to exchange views with the Ukrainian authorities. Arsen Avakov, Ukrainian Minister of the Interior, held a press conference on this affair in the presence of Isabelle Dumont, French Ambassador to Kiev. An expertise mandated by the French justice confirmed the authenticity of the canvas found.
–
Canvas always under seal
After almost three years of forced exile and various adventures, The port of La Rochelle has just returned to safe harbor, at the Place Stanislas museum.
He apparently traveled under seal with the French Ambassador between Kiev and Paris, to the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Goods (OCBC). Before the seal takes the direction of Nancy under guard, 15 days ago, to the Museum of Fine Arts. For now, the canvas is still under seal and therefore under the control of justice and cannot yet be exhibited.
–
Handover ceremony scheduled for February 12
An official ceremony to hand over the work to the museum and a breaking of the seals should take place next week in Nancy in the presence of representatives of the Nancy and Ukrainian authorities.
However, due to the pandemic and the constraints imposed on non-EU nationals, the presence of one or more Ukrainian representatives is still uncertain.
François Pérain, public prosecutor of Nancy, confirms the return of the painting to Nancy. The head of the Nancy prosecution notes that he will be personally “present at the ceremony normally scheduled for February 12”. François Pérain should then unveil the conditions for discovering the painting and all the follow-up given to this file.
–
