Hungarian ministry was deceived regarding a high-value Klimt-painting taken out from the country

The ministry of construction and transport has filed with police a criminal complaint over a painting by Gustav Klimt which is believed to have been taken out of the country illegally, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Klimt painting taken out from Hungary illegally?

According to the ministry’s findings, Klimt’s “lesser known and documented” African Prince was taken abroad after a private individual applied for an export permit in 2023, using “false data and a manipulated photo”, with the intention of misleading the authorities.

In the application, the painting was referred to as an unsigned work with an estimated value of 50,000 forints (EUR 125). Based on the data and the photo provided by the applicant the authorities decided that the painting could be taken out of the country without permit under the law on the cultural heritage, while it turned out later that the picture was one of Klimt’s works that had disappeared from sight over 100 years ago.

• The five most remarkable and iconic Hungarian paintings – PHOTOS and details HERE