Romania Culture Minister addresses Grigorescu painting valuation error

Romanian Culture Minister Ioana Ciocan has addressed the controversy surrounding a painting by Nicolae Grigorescu, which was recorded in the accounting books of the 'Ion Ionescu Quintus' County Art Museum in Prahova at a value of only 3.5 lei.

Ciocan explained that the figure is a result of a human administrative error occurring during the 2005 currency redenomination. The painting, titled ‘Peisaj’, had previously been valued at 35,000 lei during the communist era; the error likely stemmed from the incorrect placement of a decimal point when removing zeros from the national currency.

The Minister noted that while the museum is under the jurisdiction of the Prahova County Council rather than the Ministry of Culture, she has contacted the museum director to discuss the matter. She emphasized that public institutions are legally required to re-evaluate mobile cultural assets every ten years, but highlighted significant systemic challenges, including insufficient budgets for professional expertise and a shortage of specialized evaluators.

Museum officials noted that professional appraisals can cost between 5% and 10% of a work's market value, creating a financial barrier to updating the records of millions of museum pieces.