Is Cellini in trouble again? Charges brought against his portrait worth 107 million euros

Famous paintings from the Renaissance always amaze the imagination. Portraits of prominent people of that era are especially memorable.

From this point of view, Benvenuto Cellini's self-portrait, which rivaled da Vinci and Michelangelo, is undoubtedly a work of art worth remembering.

But will it be remembered for its artistic beauty and historical significance, or for the endless lawsuits and accusations that plague the owner of this masterpiece, a notorious Russian cosmetics entrepreneur who constantly lands the precious work of art in legal trouble.

The path to recognition of this ancient portrait as a genuine work of art created by Cellini himself was long and difficult. And so, when this masterpiece was already supposed to be included in the list of the most outstanding works of world art, its owner, Oleg Nasobin , managed to cause another controversy with the very people who brought Cellini’s self-portrait to the fore.

In this article prof. Mikhail Tamoykin, Ph.D. , Vice President of the Tamoykin Art Foundation, recounts for the first time his history with Mr. Nasobin during their joint venture to promote and sell Benvenuto Cellini's impressive self-portrait. To understand the nature of the business relationship between these two people, it is necessary to go back to the beginning. Here's prof. Tamoykin in his own words:

Tamoikin Art Fund (TAF) is one of the largest and fastest growing private art funds in the world, with a reputation for delivering extraordinary projects and discovering world-class rarities. We were included in the Forbes 400 list, the World Gold Council chose our ancient Parthian-Sarmatian necklace as one of the “ 30 gold treasures found in 30 years ”, and in 2007 the Tamoykin family, which owns TAF, sold the 16th century Solovetsky iconostasis for 5 million dollars, setting a world record and returning this famous Christian icon to historical lands. It was thanks to this reputation that Mr. Nasobin’s representative approached us with a request to evaluate and then advertise the self-portrait of Benvenuto Cellini.

Something went wrong?

Undoubtedly, one of the most important aspects when dealing with an emerging high-end piece of art that claims to be a world-class masterpiece is the owner. The owner, his background, status and character can be as important as the item itself, especially in the initial stages of public recognition. Naturally, responsible owners, who value not only their reputation, but also the reputation of the work of art they own, try to avoid scandals and conflicts, since such a perception can brand them as problematic. Unfortunately for the only known self-portrait of Cellini, Mr. Nasobin became just such an owner - a problematic owner, causing conflicts and disputes. As Prof. says Tamoykin:

In the art world, a bad reputation around a subject is like an aura of failure. It doesn't matter how high-end your work of art is, but once word gets out that you or your rarity is problematic, partners, investors and, above all, buyers will have nothing to do with you. A work of art becomes sacrosanct because no one wants to spoil their image by simply being associated with such a controversial object or person. We are one of the few organizations that can destroy this aura and restore the reputation of the object, if, of course, the owner is wise enough to allow us to help him, be patient and not interfere. This is exactly what happened when we set about selling the world famous Solovetsky iconostasis . Before our participation, it was on the blacklist of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, which tried to destroy the reputation of this shrine, publicly accusing it of being a fake. We not only exposed high-ranking ministers of lies and corruption , but also defiantly sold the Solovetsky iconostasis for $5 million, setting a world record, and returned it to Russia in triumph. Now, when it comes to Benvenuto Cellini's self-portrait, we unfortunately cannot claim such a triumph due to the problematic behavior of its owner.

Indeed, Oleg Nasobin’s past, according to data from open and private sources , is full of dubious actions and open conflicts with various businessmen, officials, art critics and journalists. One of these experts and businessmen is prof. Mikhail Tamoykin, who says the following:

At the beginning of 2018, a representative of Oleg Nasobin contacted me and asked me to evaluate the painting, which is now known as a self-portrait of Benvenuto Cellini. I agreed, and soon he introduced Oleg to me. We signed Contract No. 47-FR, and upon receipt of full payment for the appraisal order, I provided a detailed (80 page) TES Fair Market Value report, which left Mr. Nasobin very satisfied. Why not? Not only did we conduct thorough research and determine that this Renaissance painting is worth over 107 million euros, but we also put the reputation of the entire Tamoykin Art Foundation on the line to obtain this work of art. It worked, and since then all participants in the art market have quoted our estimate, forever pegging Cellini’s portrait at €107 million.

For this alone Oleg should be grateful to us, and at first it was so. So much so that he asked if we could take on his work as a serious project on a partnership basis, the essence of which would be to promote and, ultimately, find a buyer for this masterpiece.

After long negotiations, we signed contract No. 55-FR, in which, in essence, we agreed that the Tamoikin Foundation would be appointed custodian of this painting and, using its own funds, would organize an international media campaign in order to: (a) strategically promote the self-portrait of Benvenuto Cellini in order to establish public confidence in what was at the time a relatively unknown painting purporting to be a world-class work of art; (b) make every effort to find a buyer for this self-portrait. If we manage to sell this work of art, our foundation will receive 20% of the sale.

Within 8 months we were able to launch a large-scale international media campaign, as promised. More than 200 media outlets in more than 60 countries first learned about Benvenuto Cellini and his unusual painting. Serious stories appeared on leading news networks around the world. We created so much noise that even 3 years later, Cellini’s portrait is inseparable from the Tamoikin Art Foundation in the media and in all major search engines. When the BBC , Financial Times and The Art Newspaper needed photographs and information about this portrait, they turned to us.

In the end, we managed to find an interested buyer from the Middle East who was ready to purchase a self-portrait of Benvenuto Cellini for 107 million euros, and the deal would have been concluded if Oleg had not stopped communicating with us a few weeks before.

What's happened?

Roughly speaking, our foundation was unable to simultaneously present to the world, gain trust and sell Cellini’s self-portrait for 107 million euros in just 8 months. This is simply unrealistic, this is not how high-end art projects work. They take time, and Oleg was fully informed about this from the very beginning. We certainly completed the first two steps—acquaintance and trust—but in order to sell this masterpiece, Mr. Nasobin needed patience. Unfortunately, being an eccentric person, patience is not one of his virtues, so after 8 months he, like a child, caused a scandal and disappeared. After everything we did for him, I was stunned by such unprofessional behavior.

Here I must point out some facts. According to our agreement, we were not obliged to sell this painting; no one in their right mind can promise that. We agreed to make every effort to find an interested buyer, which we did, and if not for Mr. Nasobin's impatience, we would have been successful. Given that we've put the reputation of our art fund on the line and the tempting 20% ​​commission we've been promised, why don't we do everything in our power to make the sale happen? Our entire team was very motivated and in a short time we began preliminary negotiations with several potential clients.

Professor Tamokin, did your contract with Mr. Nasobin have an expiration date and why exactly did your partnership in this monumental project disintegrate?

Our 55-FR contract was set to expire at the end of 2018, with an option to renew, but certain portions of the agreement were not affected by this expiration. As 2018 came to an end, we offered to extend the contract. At this point, to our surprise, Mr. Nasobin categorically refused and soon after that he broke off all contact with us. As sources familiar with Oleg later told me, he realized that our media campaign had achieved everything he wanted, and decided to get rid of us and try to sell this portrait himself. After all, 20% of €107 million is a lot of money and he must have felt like all the hard work had already been done. It seems to me that the man became greedy and thereby again dragged this masterpiece into trouble.

Although I was caught off guard by this short-sighted behavior, we immediately filed charges based on parts of the contract that had no expiration date. Since we were going to spend our own money and do all the hard work pro bono, we specifically designed the contract to protect ourselves from being forced out of the project at the end of the term.

I will not go into all the details of this contract, but I will quote the most important part, which is the following: “the contract remains in force until the self-portrait is sold.” In context with the other parts of this agreement, this means that the contract remains in effect and our foundation must either receive full compensation for our work; with all the late payments and losses to date this amounts to 2 million euros. Or, if Mr. Nasobin decides to sell it, he must obtain our permission and pay us a 20% commission on this sale, as specified in the contract. Oleg was well aware of these conditions and agreed to them when he signed the contract.

Did your precautions work?

Yes. According to the law under which the contract was signed, as well as international law, no commercial (or non-commercial) activities can be performed with this painting until we receive full compensation for the work done. Essentially, the portrait is under arrest. Anyone who knows about this fact and continues to work with this work of art is breaking the law. If Oleg conceals the existence of our allegations from individuals or organizations interested in Cellini's self-portrait, he is misleading, which is illegal.

Just over a week ago, we once again brought our updated charges against Mr. Nasobin in connection with his recent attempt to whitewash his past and commercialize this painting through a newly created scheme called the Cellini Art Foundation. The absurdity of this situation lies not only in the fact that the creation of such a fund was our idea, but also in the fact that Mr. Nasobin is trying to copy the Tamoykin Art Fund, while pretending that we do not exist.

In fact, the day after we submitted new applications, Oleg deleted my evaluation report and all references to us from the website of his newly created fund. Of course, we recorded these changes and consider them another attempt to hide evidence of our key participation in the Cellini project, as well as further evidence of Mr. Nasobin’s guilt.

We have also informed UNESCO and the Italian government of our legal charges, since it appears that Oleg has implicated them in this scandal . Since Mr. Nasobin is hiding from us and withholding information about our accusations from the public, I am giving this interview to bring everyone up to date on what is happening with the Cellini portrait.

I sincerely hope that this conflict will be resolved in a civilized way, and the only known self-portrait of Benvenuto Cellini will finally be free from any liens, accusations and disputes. I have charted a path to a speedy settlement that benefits all parties involved. If this is ignored, I must also firmly state that under no circumstances will the Tamoykin Art Foundation waive our legal claims. On the contrary, we will unconditionally demand full compensation from Mr. Nasobin, including overdue expenses and damages. We hope he will come to his senses and understand that the longer he waits, the more debts will be accrued on Cellini’s self-portrait.

Benvenuto Cellini's mischievous spirit seems to live on in his mysterious self-portrait, which 500 years later continues to cause trouble for everyone who comes into contact with it. This is definitely Cellini!

This gripping story of money, betrayal and prestige is exclusively presented by The World Art News. Our team of reporters has been keeping a close eye on Cellini's only known painting, and we have a feeling this is just the beginning. Subscribe to our newspaper and be the first to know what happens next in the Cellini saga.