Photo Gallery Russian Art Row
Henri Matisse's "The Dance" was brought to Russia by rich collectors. It and other paintings like it had a profound influence on a generation of Russian artists. The relationship between France and Russia is explored in a Düsseldorf Kunst Palast exhibition entitled "Bonjour Russia."
The exhibit "From Russia: French and Russian Master Paintings 1870-1925" was scheduled to open January 26 at the Royal Academy of Arts. Slated for display were a number of Russian works, including "Bathing of a Red Horse," by Kuzma Petrov Vodkin.
Ilya Repin's oil painting "Manifesto of October 17th, 1905," from the State Russian Museum, shows the influence of French Impressionists on their Russian contemporaries.
Russia said it would not loan paintings like Paul Gaugin's 1892 "Her Name was Vairaumati" unless the UK guaranteed they would be returned after the show.
The Royal Academy of Arts was optimistic that the exhibit would open on schedule, and British government officials were scrambling on Friday to put laws in place to reassure Russia.
