The strange history of the world's most stolen painting - Noah Charney

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Ivana Korom

Throughout six centuries, the Ghent Altarpiece

Tokom šest vekova, Gentski oltar

has been burned, forged, and raided in three different wars.

je spaljivan, krivotvoren i pljačkan u tri različita rata.

It is, in fact, the world’s most stolen artwork.

Zapravo se radi o najčešće kradenoj umetnini,

And while it’s told some of its secrets, it’s kept others hidden.

koja iako je razotkrila neke svoje tajne, druge je ostavila sakrivenim.

In 1934, the police of Ghent, Belgium heard that one of the Altarpiece’s panels,

Godine 1934, policija iz Genta u Belgiji je čula da je jedan od Oltarevih panela,

split between its front and back, was suddenly gone.

čija se prednja strana odvojila od zadnje, iznenada nestao.

The commissioner investigated the scene

Komesar je istražio mesto zločina,

but determined that a theft at a cheese shop was more pressing.

ali je zaključio da je krađa u prodavnici sira važnija.

Twelve ransom notes appeared over the following months

Narednih meseci se pojavilo dvanaest zahteva za otkup

and one half of the panel was even returned as a show of good faith.

i polovina panela je čak vraćena u znak dobre volje.

Meanwhile, art restorer Jef van der Veken

U međuvremenu, umetnički restaurator Džef van der Viken

made a replica of the other half for display until it was found.

je napravio repliku nedostajuće polovine za prikazivanje dok se prava ne pronađe.

But it never was.

Međutim, to se nikad nije desilo.

Some suspected that he was involved in the theft and,

Neki su sumnjali da je on bio uključen u krađu i,

once ransom demands failed,

kada su propali zahtevi za otkup,

had simply painted over the original and presented it as his copy.

prosto je slikao preko originala i predstavio ga kao kopiju.

But a definitive answer wouldn’t come for decades.

Međutim, konačan odgovor nećemo znati decenijama.

Just six years later, Hitler was planning a grand museum,

Svega šest godina kasnije, Hitler je planirao veliki muzej,

but was missing his most desired possession: the Ghent Altarpiece.

ali mu je nedostajalo nešto što je najviše želeo: Gentski oltar.

As Nazi forces advanced, Belgian leaders sent the painting to France.

Kako je nacistička vojska napredovala,

belgijske vođe su poslale sliku u Francusku.

But the Nazis commandeered and moved it to a salt mine

No nacisti su je konfiskovali i prebacili u rudnik soli

converted into a stolen art warehouse that contained over 6,000 masterpieces.

koji je pretvoren u skladište ukradenih umetnina koje je sadržalo 6000 remek-dela.

Near the war’s end in 1945,

Pred kraj rata, 1945. godine,

a Nazi official decided he’d rather blow up the mine

jedan nacistički zvaničnik je odlučio da će radije da raznese rudnik

before letting it fall into Allied hands.

nego da dozvoli da padne u ruke Saveznika.

In fact, the Allies had soldiers called Monuments Men

Zapravo, Saveznici su imali vojnike koji su se nazivali Čuvari nasleđa

who were tasked with protecting cultural treasures.

i koji su imali zadatak čuvanja kulturnog blaga.

Two of them were stationed 570 kilometers away when one got a toothache.

Dvojica su bila stacionirana 570 km daleko kada je jednog zaboleo zub.

They visited a local dentist,

Posetili su lokalnog zubara,

who mentioned that his son-in-law also loved art and took them to meet him.

koji je pomenuo da i njegov zet voli umetnost i poveo ih je da ga upoznaju.

They discovered that he was actually one of the Nazi’s former art advisors,

Otkrili su da je on zapravo jedan od bivših nacističkih savetnika za umetnost

now in hiding.

koji je trenutno u bekstvu.

And miraculously, he told them everything.

I začudo, sve im je ispričao.

The Monuments Men devised a plan to rescue the art

Čuvari nasleđa su osmislili plan da spase umetnička dela,

and the local Resistance delayed the mine’s destruction until they arrived.

a lokalni Otpor je odlagao uništenje rudnika do njihovog dolaska.

Inside, they found the Altarpiece among other world treasures.

Unutra su među drugim blagom otkrili Oltar.

The Ghent Altarpiece,

Gentski oltar,

also called "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" after its central subject,

nazvan i „Obožavanje mističnog jagnjeta” po centralnom motivu,

consists of 12 panels depicting the Biblical story.

sastoji se od 12 panela koji prikazuju biblijsku priču.

It’s one of the most influential artworks ever made.

Radi se o jednom od najuticajnijih umetničkih dela ikad napravljenih.

When Jan van Eyck completed it in Ghent in 1432,

Kada ga je Jan van Ajk dovršio u Gentu 1432. godine,

it was immediately deemed the best painting in Europe.

istog trena je proglašeno najboljom slikom u Evropi.

For millennia, artists used tempera paint consisting of ground pigment in egg yolk,

Milenijumima su umetnici koristili tempere

koje se sastoje od mlevenog pigmenta u žumancetu,

which created vivid but opaque colors.

a to je davalo žive, ali prigušene boje.

The Altarpiece was the first to showcase the unique abilities of oil paint.

Oltar je prvi demonstrirao jedinstvene mogućnosti uljanih boja.

They allowed van Eyck to capture light and movement

Omogućile su van Ajku da oslika svetlost i pokret

in a way that had never been seen before.

kako nikad pre nije viđeno.

He did this using brushes sometimes as tiny as a single badger hair.

Postigao je to ponekad koristeći četkice tanke kao jazavčeva dlaka.

And by depicting details like Ghent landmarks,

A slikajući detalje, poput gentskih znamenitosti,

botanically identifiable flowers, and lifelike faces,

botanički prepoznatljivog cveća i realističnih lica,

the Altarpiece pioneered an artistic mode that would come to be known as Realism.

Oltar je bio rodonačelnik umetničkog stila koji će da bude poznat kao realizam.

Yet, conservation work completed in 2019 found that, for centuries,

Ipak, po okončanju konzervatorskog posla 2019, otkriveno je da su vekovima

people had been viewing a dramatically altered version.

ljudi posmatrali drastično izmenjenu verziju.

Due to dozens of restorations,

Zbog na desetine restauracija,

as much as 70% of certain sections had been painted over.

preko gotovo 70 procenata određenih delova je bilo nanovo oslikano.

As conservators removed these layers of paint, varnish, and grime,

Kako su konzervatori uklanjali ove naslage boje, laka i gareži,

they discovered vibrant colors and whole buildings that had long been invisible.

otkrili su živahne boje i čitave zgrade koje su dugo bile nevidljive.

Other details were more unsettling.

Drugi detalji su bili nespokojniji.

The mystic lamb’s four ears had long perplexed viewers.

Četiri uha mističnog jagnjeta su dugo zbunjivala posmatrače.

But the conservation team revealed that the second pair

No, ekipa konzervatora je otkrila da je drugi par

was actually a pentimento—

zapravo pentimento -

the ghost of underlying layers of paint that emerge as newer ones fade.

tj. fantom osnovnog sloja boje koji se pojavljuje kako nove boje blede.

Restorers had painted over the original lamb

Restauratori su naslikali preko prvobitnog jagnjeta

with what they deemed a more palatable version.

nešto što su smatrali uverljivijom verzijom.

They removed this overpainting

Uklonili su gornje naslage boje

and discovered the original to be shockingly humanoid.

i otkrili da je prvobitno jagnje zapanjujuće nalik čoveku.

The conservators also finally determined whether van der Veken

Konzervatori su takođe konačno utvrdili da li je van der Viken

had simply returned the missing panel from 1934.

prosto vratio nedostajući panel iz 1934.

He hadn’t.

Nije.

It was confirmed to be a copy, meaning the original is still missing.

Potvrđeno je da se radi o kopiji, što znači da je original i dalje izgubljen.

But there was one final clue.

Međutim, postojao je poslednji trag.

A Ghent stockbroker, while on his deathbed a year after the theft,

Gentski broker, godinu dana nakon krađe, na smrtnoj postelji

revealed an unsent ransom note.

je otkrio neposlatu poruku za otkup.

It reads:

U njoj piše:

it “rests in a place where neither I, nor anybody else,

delo „počiva na mestu na kom ja, niti iko drugi

can take it away without arousing the attention of the public.”

ne može da ga uzme, a da ne privuče pažnju javnosti.”

A Ghent detective remains assigned to the case but,

Slučaj se i dalje dodeljuje po jednom gentskom detektivu,

while there are new tips every year, it has yet to be found.

ali, iako nove dojave stižu svake godine, delo još uvek nije otkriveno.