Famous paintings of the Renaissance always amaze the imagination. Especially memorable are the portraits of outstanding people of that era.

From this point of view, the self-portrait of Benvenuto Cellini, who competed with 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 charges that have dogged the masterpiece’s owner, a notorious Russian cosmetics entrepreneur who has constantly landed 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 now, when this masterpiece was about to be included in the list of the most outstanding works of world art, its owner, Oleg Nasobin , managed to provoke another controversy with the very people who brought Cellini’s self-portrait to the forefront.

In this article, Prof. Mikhail Tamoikin, Ph.D. , Vice President of the Tamoikin Art Foundation, tells for the first time the story of his relationship with Mr. Nasobin during their joint venture to promote and sell a spectacular self-portrait by Benvenuto Cellini. To understand the nature of the business relationship between the two men, it is necessary to go back to the beginning. Here is Prof. Tamoikin 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 have been listed on the Forbes 400, the World Gold Council has chosen our ancient Parthian-Sarmatian necklace as one of “ 30 Gold Treasures Found in 30 Years ,” and in 2007, the Tamoikin family, which owns TAF, sold the 16th-century Solovetsky Iconostasis for $5 million, setting a world record and returning this famous Christian icon to its historic home. It was because of this reputation that Mr. Nasobin’s representative approached us to appraise and then promote a self-portrait of Benvenuto Cellini.

Something went wrong?

Undoubtedly, one of the most important aspects when dealing with an emerging high-class work of art, aspiring to be a world-class masterpiece, is the owner. The owner, his provenance, status and character can be no less important than the object itself, especially in the early stages of public recognition. Naturally, responsible owners, who value not only their own reputation but also the reputation of the work of art in their possession, try to avoid scandals and conflicts, since such perceptions can brand them as problematic. Unfortunately for the only known self-portrait of Cellini, Mr. Nasobin was just such an owner – a problematic owner, causing conflicts and disputes. As Professor Tamoikin says:

In the art world, a bad reputation around an object is like an aura of failure. No matter how high-quality your artwork is, once word gets out that you or your rarity are problematic, partners, investors and, above all, buyers will have nothing to do with you. The artwork becomes sacrosanct, because no one wants to ruin 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, to be patient and not to interfere. This is exactly what happened when we took on the sale of the world-famous Solovetsky iconostasis . Before our involvement, it was on the blacklist of the Russian Ministry of Culture, which tried to destroy the reputation of this sacred object by publicly accusing it of forgery. Not only did we expose high-ranking ministers for lies and corruption , but we also ostentatiously sold the Solovetsky iconostasis for $5 million, setting a world record, and triumphantly returned it to Russia. 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 historians and journalists. One of such experts and businessmen is Prof. Mikhail Tamoikin, who says the following:

In early 2018, Oleg Nasobin’s representative contacted me and asked me to value the painting now known as the Self-Portrait of Benvenuto Cellini. I agreed, and he soon introduced me to Oleg. We signed contract #47-FR, and after receiving full payment for the appraisal order, I provided a detailed (80-page) TES report on the fair market value, which left Mr. Nasobin very satisfied. And why not? Not only did we conduct a thorough study and determine that this Renaissance painting is worth over €107 million, but we also put the reputation of the entire Tamoikin Art Foundation on the line to obtain this work of art. It worked, and since then, all participants in the art market quote our appraisal, forever pegging the Cellini portrait at the €107 million mark.

For this alone, Oleg should be grateful to us, and at first he was. 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 lengthy negotiations, we signed Contract #55-FR, which essentially agreed that the Tamoikin Foundation would be appointed as the custodian of this painting and would, at its own expense, organize an international media campaign to: (a) strategically promote the self-portrait of Benvenuto Cellini in order to establish public confidence in what was then a relatively unknown painting with aspirations to be a world-class work of art; (b) make every effort to find a buyer for this self-portrait. If we succeed in selling this work of art, our foundation will receive 20% of the proceeds.

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 learned about Benvenuto Cellini and his unusual painting for the first time. Serious materials appeared in leading news networks around the world. We created so much noise that even 3 years later, the Cellini portrait is inseparable from the Tamoikin Art Foundation in the media and in all major search engines. When the BBC , the Financial Times and The Art Newspaper needed photos and information about this portrait, they turned to us.

We eventually found an interested buyer from the Middle East who was willing to buy the 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 earlier.

What’s happened?

To put it bluntly, our foundation was unable to simultaneously introduce 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-class art projects work. They take time, and Oleg was fully informed about this from the very beginning. We certainly accomplished the first two steps - acquaintance and trust - but to sell this masterpiece, Mr. Nasobin needed patience. Unfortunately, being an eccentric person, patience is not one of his virtues, so after 8 months, like a child, he made 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 contract, 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 succeeded. Considering that we were putting the reputation of our art fund on the line and the tempting 20% commission that was promised to us, why shouldn’t we do everything in our power to make the sale happen? Our entire team was highly 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 on this monumental project fall apart?

Our 55-FR contract was set to expire at the end of 2018 with an option to extend, but certain parts of the agreement were not subject to the expiration. As 2018 was drawing to a close, we offered to extend the contract. At that point, to our surprise, Mr. Nasobin flatly refused and soon after severed all contact with us. As sources familiar with Oleg later told me, he realized that our media campaign had achieved all he wanted and decided to get rid of us and try to sell the portrait himself. After all, 20% of €107 million is a lot of money, and it must have seemed to him that all the hard work had already been done. It seems to me that the man got greedy and thereby got this masterpiece into trouble again.

Although I was taken aback by this short-sighted behavior, we immediately filed charges based on the 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 had specifically written the contract in such a way as to protect ourselves from being forced out of the project when the term expired.

I won’t 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 force, and our foundation must either receive full compensation for our work; with all the overdue payments and losses, this amounts to 2 million euros today. Or, if Mr. Nasobin decides to sell it, he must obtain our permission and pay us a 20% commission on the sale, as stated 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) actions can be taken with this painting until we receive full compensation for the work done. In essence, 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 hides the existence of our charges from individuals or organizations interested in Cellini’s self-portrait, he is misleading, which is illegal.

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

In fact, the day after we submitted new applications, Oleg removed my evaluation report and all references to us from the website of his newly created foundation. 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 Oleg appears to have dragged them into this scandal . Since Mr. Nasobin is hiding from us and withholding information about our charges from the public, I am giving this interview to update everyone on what is happening with the Cellini portrait.

I sincerely hope that this conflict will be resolved in a civilized manner, and that the only known self-portrait of Benvenuto Cellini will finally be free of any liens, charges, and disputes. I have outlined a path to a quick settlement that will benefit all parties involved. If this is ignored, I must also firmly state that under no circumstances will the Tamoikin Art Foundation abandon our legal claims. On the contrary, we will unconditionally demand full compensation from Mr. Nasobin, including overdue expenses and damages. We hope that he will come to his senses and understand that the longer he waits, the more debt will accrue on the Cellini self-portrait.

It seems that the mischievous spirit of Benvenuto Cellini lives on in his mysterious self-portrait, which, 500 years later, continues to cause trouble for everyone who comes into contact with it. It’s definitely Cellini!

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