Original article (in Bosnian) was published on 07/04/2023
An incorrect claim is being shared on social networks that the London gallery wants to remove a painting painted by Jan van Eyck in 1434 because it resembles Putin.
In a post published on the Telegram channel RUSIJA U SRCU, dated March 30, 2023, it is claimed that a gallery in London wants to remove one of the paintings painted by Jan van Eyck because the figure in it resembles Vladimir Putin.
From the section BELIEVE IT OR NOT…
A London gallery wants to remove a painting by Jan van Eyck due to frequent complaints from visitors about the similarity between the figure in the painting and Putin.
By the way – the painting was created in 1434.
The post on this Telegram channel achieved 178 interactions by the time of writing the analysis. Facebook users published identical claims on their private profiles suggesting that the London gallery wanted to remove the painting because the figure in it resembled Putin (1, 2, 3). The same claims were published on the social network Twitter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
What are the facts?
The London gallery is the established term for the United Kingdom’s national art museum located in London. The claim that this institution wants to remove a painting painted by Jan van Eyck in 1434 because the figure in it resembles Putin was published without citing any source.
Let’s note that Jan van Eyck is one of the most famous Dutch painters, who perfected the oil painting technique. According to data from the official website of the London gallery, the “Arnolfini Portrait” is one of van Eyck’s most famous works and was first exhibited in the museum in 1843. The full name of this work, according to the same source, is The Portrait of Giovanni (?) Arnolfini and his wife.
A keyword search in the English language provides several analyzes of the world’s fact-checking platforms proving that the London gallery is not removing Eyck’s painting (1, 2, 3). For example, Reuters in an analysis published on April 4, 2023, claims that the gallery’s spokesperson stated that the painting is on display and there are no plans to remove it.
A spokesman for the gallery told Reuters that the painting is currently on display in room 28 and that “there are no plans to remove this painting from the exhibition”.
Reuters found no press release in which the gallery announced that the portrait would be removed (archive.is/wip/Tj1DT) nor any media reports of any alleged call for the painting to be removed (archive.is/wip/JkCoW).
“There have been no complaints that we are aware of”, the spokesman added.
According to the stated facts, we evaluate the claim from the Telegram channel RUSIJA U SRCU that a gallery in London wants to remove one of the paintings painted by Jan van Eyck because the figure in it resembles Putin as fake news. The painting is available in the gallery’s permanent display and, as stated by the institution, there are no plans to remove it.