The FINANCIAL — Germany on August 30 is handing over to Ukraine The Taking of Christ, or Judas's Kiss, a painting by Caravaggio, which had been stolen from the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany Natalia Zarudna has announced in an interview with Ukrainian News.
She recalls, the canvas was withdrawn from the abductors in Germany in course of a joint operation by both countries' law-enforcement agencies.
The ambassador says the painting will be handed over during President Viktor Yanukovych's visit to Germany.
Zarudna says the painting was badly damaged during the stealing from the museum, and the Berlin art gallery at its own costs has restored it completely before returning to Ukraine.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, officers from the Interior Affairs Ministry of Ukraine together with German police on June 25 in Berlin, Germany seized three Ukrainian citizens and one German on suspicion of stealing Caravaggio painting, The Taking of Christ, from the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art.
Experts estimate the withdrawn Caravaggio painting to cost some USD 100 million.
Unknown persons in 2008 stole The Taking of Christ, or Judas's Kiss by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio from the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art.
