A genuine painting by Marc Chagall may appear in a museum in Vitebsk

A genuine painting by Marc Chagall may appear in a museum in Vitebsk. The issue of donating a genuine painting by the world-renowned artist to the Marc Chagall Museum in Vitebsk was raised today by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Kosinets, during a meeting with the Ambassador of Israel to Belarus, Yosef Shagal, reports BELTA correspondent BELTA.

As the governor emphasized, Vitebsk, known throughout the world as the birthplace of Marc Chagall, glorified in his works, does not have a single painting by him.

In July 2014, the art center of the Marc Chagall Museum will celebrate its housewarming. Alexander Kosinets invited Yosef Shagal to take part in this event, which is important for all admirers of the famous artist's work, noting that a genuine painting by the great master would be a symbolic and valuable gift to the museum for this occasion.

Yosef Shagal expressed his gratitude for the invitation and promised to assist in resolving the issue of returning a painting by Marc Chagall to Vitebsk. In turn, the ambassador raised the issue of creating a Wall of Remembrance for the Righteous Among the Nations – Belarusians who saved Jews during the Great Patriotic War. Currently, there are 722 such people in Belarus. Yosef Shagal emphasized that the closeness of relations between Israel and Belarus is determined by the fact that the peoples went through the war together.

Currently, the collection of the Marc Chagall Museum in Vitebsk holds 300 works of his graphic art, as clarified to the BELTA correspondent by the director of the cultural institution, Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya.

Olga Bogacheva