MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The return of Russian art collections after exhibits in European countries is going as planned, with the resolution of a controversy around two privately-owned paintings seized in France being in progress, Russian presidential representative for international cultural cooperation, Mikhail Shvydkoy, told Sputnik on Friday.
"The return of artworks, which were provided for exhibitions in European countries, is going as planned. There should be no contingencies and no additional complications," Shvydkoy said.
With regard to two art objects from the Morozov Collection, which France precluded from being returned to Russia as part of sanctions covering luxury goods, Shvydkoy said that they "belong to somewhat different legal milieu" due to being owned by private individuals, not the state.
"We are currently considering all legal opportunities for the resolution of this issue," the envoy added.
"The Morozov Collection. Icons of Modern Art" exhibition in Paris ran from September 22 to April 3.
The exhibition included works of art from Russia's most prominent museums, including the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. The collection features works by celebrated European artists such as Paul Gaugin, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, as well as such Russian artists as Natalia Goncharova, Kazimir Malevich, Ilya Repin and Valentin Serov.
