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Mondriaan shown at Bozar was a fake, expert claims

23:25 10/09/2017

An investigation is under way to determine whether a Piet Mondriaan work of art displayed at Bozar last spring was, in fact, a fake.

The 1923 canvas painting "Sans titre" was presented to the public in Brussels from February to May last year as part of an exhibition on fellow Dutch artist Theo van Doesburg.

The piece was on loan to Bozar from the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, which in turn had obtained the work from a private Swiss collector.

Leon Hanssen, a Dutch specialist on the work of Mondriaan, claims that during his investigation into the work's authenticity, he received conflicting information from the owner about its origin. Differences were also noted between archive photos of the work and the painting that went on display in Brussels.

A Bozar spokesman told De Standaard: "He claims the work is not authentic but we are awaiting an official report.

"After the exhibition in Bozar, it was extensively restored and studied by the Stedelijk Museum, in agreement with its owner. It is during this in-depth investigation that questions about the authenticity of the painting appeared."