" To the attn. of Mrs. Alexandra Olivotto , Chief department Culture , Cotidianul. Monday, May 12, 2008 Dear Mrs. Olivotto, Thank you for the prompt reaction to my email and your article Carol I, acuzat de plagiat of 08 Mai 2008 I understand that for the media is not an easy job to present everybody's point of a view . My husband had even deeper sympathy for the difficulties you face in your daily work since he was your colleague ( he was a Contributing Editor of TIME magazine in the USA ). I am standing behind all written in my previous letter to you . Nobody can claim that there were any negotiation with the heirs that jointly hold the copyright of all Mestrovici art till 2032...Since we received only one letter from the Ministry of Culture from Secretary of State Virgil Stefan Nitulescu in August 2006 to which we immediately responded and since then we never heard from the Ministry of Culture. Nobody ever contacted us later from the Romanian Embassy here or from the Romanian Ministry of Culture - no phone calls, no faxes, no emails , nothing ! So we concluded that a Romanian sculptor will create a totally new equestrian statue. If you are interested I can fax you the single letter that we ever got from Mr.Nitulescu . The approx. 3 m. high plasters of HM Carol I and HM Ferdinand ( even higher and more expressive) are still kept in the Zagreb Gliptoteka in perfect shape . The delegation of the Romanian Ministry of culture came to see them in 2005 and nobody from the heirs was even invited to be present at this vent according to the protocol and the bon ton ... We were never contacted by the Mayor of Bucharest who commissioned the statue to Mr. Codre . We do not insist of restoring the destroyed Mestrovic statues, but we do not agree his art to be plagiarized, deformed or abused . Let Mr. Codre make a dozen of Carol I statues ( as the one just unveiled in Calarasi) if he wants and desires , but let it be clear that his creations have nothing to do with Ivan Mestrovic. I am attaching Florin Codre's impersonal email addressed to me (10/05/08) and my answer , which will give more information and clear the subject even more. My best regards , Rumiana Mestrovic
Dear Mrs. Olivotto, Thank you again for your article Carol I, acuzat de plagiat of 08 Mai 2008 http://www.cotidianul.ro/carol_i_acuzat_de_plagiat-45386.html . Meanwhile we managed to translate into English the article and the readers comments . Now it is clearer to us what was stated in the text. There are a number of claims that are not true , even some are slanders . We are using our right to react and we hope that you will publish our response in your paper, as is the practice in any civilized society. What bothers us the most is that the names of the Romanian Kings Carol I and Ferdinand and the one of Ivan Mestrovic are the real victims of somebody's lies and manipulations. By this point we don't know who is to be blamed ... Let Mr. Mihai Oroveanu who came to Zagreb in 2006 prove his claims with documents or any other proofs ! Let Mr. Oroveanu explain why hi or any body from the delegation did not do anything to see or talk or communicate in any way at least with Prof. Dr. Matthew Mestrovic, the only Ivan Mestrovic's heir who was in Zagreb during the visit of Mr. Oroveanu ? Isn't it absurd if really Mr. Oroveanu wanted something to be achieved ? At this point Mr. Oroveanu and the Romanian MCC had the official information from the Ivan Mestrovic Foundation ( Mestrovic Museums) who are the four Mestrovic heirs, that they jointly hold the copyright , while the original plasters of the two equestrian statues of HM Carol I and HM Ferdinand kept in Gliptoteka are private property ( one of Matthew , one of Stjepan Mestrovic ) . The Mestrovic heirs heard about this visit much late and from unofficial source negotiations. Why the Romanian side is excusing them self with the Croatian state officials if the statues in question are not state property nor the copyright belong to the Croatian state? How can anyone claim that "the Mestrovic family would have asked for 4 million Euros author's rights" or that "the cost is no object... the difficulties came from one (sic) of the four heirs who does not wish to part with the copyright" and "that the Romanian state did everything to purchase the copyright"... Mr. Oroveanu went as far as saying that the Croatian government offered to pay the copyright to the Mestrovic family for the cast to be made and sent to Bucharest. This way he is accusing the Croatian government of playing unfair or double game. Mr. Oroveanu actually is accusing the Croatian Ministry of Culture for giving wrong information to the Romanian side or hiding from the heirs the negotiations that have been held behind the back of Mestrovic's heirs ? Where are the proofs ? Let Mr. Oroveanu or Mr. Virgil Stefan Nitulescu or any Romanian official show to us or to you papers on which are based all these invented claims. It is an attempt to manipulate the Romanian society by the allegation that we , the heirs or one of us, caused the collapse of the project and that the Croatian or Romanian officials made any specific proposal to the heirs ! There is an awful lot of confusion based on false statements It's a shame and someone is just washing off his hands... Our point is that we do not imposes the restoring of the destroyed Mestrovic statues, but it is unacceptable his art to be plagiarized, deformed or abused . Let the abstractionist Mr. Codre make a dozen of Carol I statues, if he wants and if the Romanian officials are eager to pay him from the taxpayer pockets , but let it be clear that his creations have nothing to do with the figurative sculptor Ivan Mestrovic. It is ridiculous that Mr. Florin defends himself from the accusations of plagiarism by stating that all the equestrian statues in the world look similar and that's why they can all be proclaimed a plagiarism...Sapienti sat ! Let him consult any lawyer specialized in copyright . We hope that the most important is that the truth will come out and that the democratic Romanian state will give back to your people the real values and perspectives , lost under the Communism . The history and the culture of one nation , of one state define the future prosperity and we are deeply convinced that the Romanian people will succeed in this. Sincerely , Matthew Mestrovic Rumiana Mestrovic Addendum : Dear Mrs. Olivotto, We just realized that some of the claims were made not by Mr. Oroveanu , but by the Minister of Culture Adrian Iorgulescu , which even aggravates the situation. So let Minister Iorgulescu give any proof for his claims that there were specific negotiation with the heirs and that we were offered 4 million Euro or any amount of money . Let the honorable Minister Iorgulescu prove to Cotidianul that the Croatian Ministry of Culture offered to pay us for our copyright etc. Besides if the statues of HM Carol I and HM Ferdinand are private property ( not state property) and the copyright belongs to us , not to the State, why Minister Iorgulescu was in contact only with Croatian State officials ignoring totally the Mestrovic heirs? Sincerely, Matthew Mestrovic Rumiana Mestrovic P.S. Exact chronology : -20 April 2006 Foundation director informs MCC who exactly are the four heirs, incl. their addresses. -June 2006 MCC delegation in Zagreb , nobody informed or invited the heirs. -20 July 2006, letter from Andrew Popper, Master of HM King Michaels Household, Elisabeth Palace.To reerect the two statues. -11 August 2006 , letter from Secretary of State Virgil Stefan Nitulescu , MCC. To reerect the two statues. -21 August 2006* , answer to Andrew Popper, some further contacts till Oct.2006 -21 August 2006*, answer to Secretary of State Virgil Stefan Nitulescu , MCC.Never responded letter. -11 Oct. 2006 first and last contact with the Romanian Embassy in Zagreb, H.E. Oana Popa -nothing....untill 03 May 2008 when we were informed by you that a statue of/after Mestrovic was unveiled in Bucharest. * forwarded to the embassy " The important issues that I want to share with you are the following : 1.We consider the work of Mr. Codre a plagiarism of Mestrovici's monument of HM Carol I since any remodeling or reshaping of a sculpture without the permission of the copyright holder is a violation of the law. The copyright for all of Ivan Mestrovic's sculptures belongs to us, his 4 heirs till 2032, according the Copyright Law .We were never asked by the Bucharest City Hall to grant such a permission .Therefore any action taken in connection with the equestrian statues of the Romanian monarchs destroyed by the communists in 1948 is illegal , if it is taken without the written authorization of the four heirs , who jointly hold the copyright (irrespectively of the ownership of a particular sculpture) . This can be confirmed by any lawyer specialized in copyright law. You can draw a conclusion also by comparing the attached photos of the old monument and Codre's version. 2. Even if we ignore the legal side of the problem , the sculptor F. Codre , who is an abstractionist, is the least appropriate artist to make a statue after Mestrovici's original because Mestrovici was a figurative artist . You can see that by comparing the art of Codre ( see the next e-mail concerning Codre) and a selection of Mestrovic art sent in a separate e-mail. Codre should have made something responding to his style, because the statue of HM Carol I he made looks like Mestrovici after a plastic surgery operation. 3.The Romanian MCC officials must have given to the media a lot of misinterpretations, wrong information and false claims , not to say lies and slanders ( because I do not believe that the journalists have invented them) . - It is not true that for 2 years negotiations went on with us.There were no negotiations since negotiations mean a process and there was only single contact with us. The exact chronology supported by documents is : -30 March 2006 , before we were contacted in any way, false and suggestive information appeared in the media (see for example http://www.timpul.md/Rubric.asp?idIssue=284&idRubric=4394 ). It is a slander that Mestrovici's heirs would ask 3 million Euro for the copyright of a small plaster or model ( 50 cm ) of HM Carol I . The first lie is that we ever asked for any amount of money - we never did ! We also were never offered any money from any Romanian or Croatian Ministry of Culture official or any other state official! The plasters or models of HM Carol I and HM Ferdinand that are our private property are approx. 3 meters high , not 50 cm. ( one is property of my husband Matthew Mestrovic and one of his nephew.The statue, are in the Gliptoteka which mixed up their titles) . -20 April 2006, the Mestrovic Foundation (Mestrovic Museums) director officially informed in writing the Romanian MCC who exactly are the four Mestrovici's heirs, incl. their addresses. - June 2006, MCC delegation came to see the original plasters of the two equestrian statues of HM Carol I and HM Ferdinand kept in Gliptoteka ( The Glyptotheque of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts) in Zagreb . Nobody informed or invited the heirs on that occasion. Let MCC explain why nobody tried to see , talk or communicate at least with Prof. Dr. Matthew Mestrovic, Ivan Mestrovic's heir who lives in Zagreb ( besides residing in New York ) and who was in Zagreb during the visit of MCC delegation? Isn't it absurd if MCC really wanted something to be achieved ? At this point the Romanian MCC had the official information who are the four Mestrovic heirs, that jointly hold the copyright . The Mestrovic heirs heard about this visit much later from an unofficial source . Why the Romanian officials are excusing themselves with some alleged negotiations with the Croatian Ministry of Culture since the statues in question are not state property nor does the copyright belong to the Croatian state? -20 July 2006,a letter to Matthew Mestrovic ( also perhaps identical letters to the other three heirs ) from Andrew Popper, Master of HM King Michaels Household, Elisabeth Palace , expressing the intension to re-erect the two statues- of HM Carol I and HM Ferdinand . -11 August 2006 , letter to Matthew Mestrovic ( identical letters were sent to the other three heirs) from Secretary of State Virgil Stefan Nitulescu(MCC), expressing the intension to re-erect the two statues- of HM Carol I and HM Ferdinand . -21 August 2006* , answer to Andrew Popper by Matthew Mestrovic approving and strongly supporting the project and asking for the specific conditions, arrangements , technicalities etc. Some further contacts till Oct.2006 without specific success or final conclusion . * forwarded to the Romanian embassy in Zagreb -21 August 2006*, answer to Secretary of State Virgil Stefan Nitulescu , MCC, by Matthew Mestrovic greatly approving , strongly supporting the project and asking for the specific conditions, arrangements , technicalities etc. We never got any response to this letter. * forwarded to the Romanian embassy in Zagreb -11 Oct. 2006 , by e- mail first and only contact coming from H.E. Oana Popa (Ambassador, Romanian Embassy in Zagreb) . -nothing...so we concluded that MCC gave up the project and decided that a Romanian sculptor would make modern statues of HM Carol I and HM Ferdinand...until 03 May 2008 when we were informed, again in unofficial way by some Romanian friends, about Codre's plagiarism - the statue of HM Carol after/inspired by Mestrovic ( unveiled in Bucharest) .We still don't know what will happen with the monument of HM Ferdinand. Perhaps F. Codre will make another plagiarism after/inspired by Mestrovic? - It is not true what ministrul Culturii, Adrian Iorgulescu said "that the Romanian state did everything to purchase the copyright" etc*. The Romanian state never offered us( nor did we ever ask ) the alleged 4 million EURO or any other amount of money for the copyright, just for the model of the statue of HM Carol I from the Croatian Ministry of Culture or by the Romanian MCC . *www.cotidianul.ro/carol_i_acuzat_de_plagiat-45386.html ) This way the Romanian officials are accusing the Croatian government of playing unfair or a double game. The Croatian Ministry of Culture actually is accused for giving wrong information to the Romanian side or hiding from the heirs the negotiations that have been held behind the back of Mestrovic's heirs . Where are the proofs ? Let Mr. Oroveanu , Mr. Virgil Stefan Nitulescu or any Romanian official show to us or to you the documents on which are based all these invented claims. It is an attempt to manipulate Romanian society by the allegation that we , the heirs or one of us, caused the collapse of the project ! It is not true that by decision of the Tribunal in the Hague Ivan Mestrovic was paid by the Romanian state damages for his statues of HM Carol I and HM Ferdinand , that were destroyed in 1948 by the Communists ( we read this false claim in numerous Romanian sources ) . Let MCC or any Romanian officials prove this false claim with some documents or at least let them say when such a monetary compensation was executed. It is only true that by law such damages had to be covered , but who can imagine that during the Communist Regime such a measure could have been undertaken, while Ivan Mestrovic was still alive ( he died in 1962). Since the democratic changes occurred in Romania nobody of the four Mestrovici heirs sought such a compensation in any court of law , even though it was a legal right . I am the daughter-in-law of Ivan Mestrovic . I am of a Bulgarian-German descent , professor of Classical languages, specialized in Roman Law and World Heritage. My husband is Prof. Dr. Matthew Mestrovic , the son of Ivan Mestrovic. Matthew spent most of his life in the U.S. since his father left Yugoslavia because of the Communist regime. He holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University in Modern European History . He was a Contributing Editor of TIME magazine and for decades university professor of Modern European history in the US. He was the president of the Croatian National Congress, a deputy in the Croatian Parliament , member of Croatias delegation to the Council of Europe and the Interparliamentary Union and Croatian ambassador in Bulgaria . So he doesn't lack the level for proper communication or negotiations with the Romanian state . But ... There is an awful lot of confusion based on false statements . It's a shame and someone is just washing his hands... Our point is that we do not insist on restoring the destroyed Mestrovic statues, but it is unacceptable that his art be plagiarized, deformed or abused . Let the abstractionist Mr. Codre make a dozen Carol I statues, if he wants and if the Romanian officials are eager to pay him from the taxpayer pockets , but let it be clear that his creations have nothing to do with the figurative sculptor Ivan Mestrovic. It is ridiculous that Mr. Florin defends himself from the accusations of plagiarism by stating that all the equestrian statues in the world look similar and that consequently they can all be proclaimed plagiarisms *...Sapienti sat ! Let him consult any lawyer specialized in copyright . *www.cotidianul.ro/carol_i_acuzat_de_plagiat-45386.html ... We hope that the most important is that the truth come out and that the democratic Romanian state give back to your people the real values and perspectives , lost under Communism . The history and the culture of a nation , of a state , define their future and prosperity .We are deeply convinced that the Romanian people will succeed in this. Sincerely , Prof. Rumiana Mestrovic http://www.familiaregala.ro/?id2=020201Y8&lng=
