CAIRO: Over the course of his one-year imprisonment, Mohsen Shaalan, the former head of the Egyptian Fine Arts Sector, painted several new pieces reflecting his tenure in prison. One particularly striking piece shows Shaalan handcuffed in Van Gogh's painting. Shaalan was sentenced to a year in Tora prison over involvement in the theft of Van Gogh's painting, “Poppy Flowers,” from Giza's Mohammad Mahmoud Khalil art museum. The incident is reflected in several of Shalaan's pieces painted as he waited for his arraignment. One painting depicts a man imprisoned in the frame of an empty painting. Another depicted the incomplete face of Former Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, implicating Hosni in the theft of the Poppy Flowers. Drawings in dark black ink show Shaalan's dejection. One piece portrays two policeman dragging Shaalan as he is surrounded by bad omens of wild cats. A different one shows a fainting Shaalan with Van Gogh's Poppy Flowers. Shalaan shows his unhappiness through a painting of a sad Van Gogh with a broken drawing brush and black cats representing corruption.
