Russian museum reveals Titian origin of painting and gathers money to buy

'Venus and Adonis'

This is “Venus and Adonis.” For a long time experts believed it was a copy of the famous masterpiece by Italian artist Titian (1490-1576).

Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts / Reuters

This is the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, where the painting is now on show. Victoria Markova, a Russian expert in Renaissance period, was sure it was a real Titian at first glance.

El Prado Museum in Madrid / Reuters

This is Madrid’s Prado Museum where the original painting is on show. Experts there – as well as those in Venice – have revealed that the version of Venus and Adonis in Moscow is in fact an original Titian.

Marina Loshak / Olga Melekestseva

This is the Pushkin Museum’s director Marina Loshak.  She dreams of having Venus and Adonis in the museum’s collection (and has already decided where to hang it). The painting is currently owned by a Russian collector who bought it in 2005 as a copy.

Planeta.ru

This is Russian crowdfunding platform Planeta.ru. They probably dream of being the place where the Pushkin Museum hopes to collect the money. This is not a joke. The Pushkin Museum is asking the Russian public to help it buy the painting for somewhere between $10 to $20 million.

The move is unprecedented in Russia.

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