Romania, oligarch and royal locked in tug-of-war over El Greco painting

NEW YORK

An early 17th-century El Greco painting is caught in a fierce legal battle among the Romanian state, a Russian oligarch and a contested royal figure, with all parties claiming rightful ownership.

The artwork, “Saint Sebastian,” is currently held at Christie’s auction house in New York. Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who purchased the piece in 2010 through his company Accent Delight, had planned to sell it earlier this year. However, the sale was canceled after the Romanian government filed a legal claim, arguing that the painting was unlawfully removed from its royal collection decades ago.

According to Romanian officials, the painting left the country in 1947 when King Michael I traveled to London for Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding. They allege that the king hid the work — along with other valuables — in a Zurich bank, transporting them aboard the Orient Express. Prince Paul of Romania, a disputed member of the royal family, has joined the case, accusing Michael I of effectively stealing the work and seeking its return based on family heritage.

Rybolovlev’s representatives counter that the communist regime at the time authorized Michael I to take the painting with him as part of a quiet abdication deal to avoid public unrest.

Now stuck in legal limbo, the painting cannot be auctioned until the dispute is resolved. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has warned that selling the painting before ownership is adjudicated would cause “irreparable harm” to Romania and its cultural legacy.

Described by the Romanian state as “unique, historically significant and irreplaceable,” “Saint Sebastian” remains under tight custody as the high-profile tug-of-war continues in New York courts.