Three unknown oil paintings attributed to the pioneering artistic Kazimir Malevic are on display at a state museum in Bucharest.

If it turns out that they are actually its creations, their value could exceed £ 100m, but a leading art researcher argues that the narrative behind their origin is problematic.

The museum that exhibits them is currently refusing to take a stand on whether the works are genuine.

Ukrainian descent Kazimir Malevic is considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

His paintings are worth more than any other Ukrainian or Russian artist.

Indicatively, his painting was sold with the “astronomical amount” of $ 85 million in 2018.

The works were found in 2023 under a mattress at the Israeli pensioner’s home, a grandmother, grandmother of businessman’s wife, Yaijan Cohen, who holds them today.

However, the world of art remains skeptical.

Ukrainian American scholar Konstantin Akinsa told the BBC that the data that proves their authenticity and connect them with Malevic are incomplete.

“The three works exhibited now in Bucharest were not recorded, they were not photographed or exposed during the artist’s life,” the art historian and curator said.

As Cohen argues, however, by also speaking to the BBC the absence of files that substantiate the authenticity of the works justifies the suppression of modern art since Stalin’s time.

Eva Lavender inherited the paintings from her father, an accountant in Odessa.

He is said to have bought one and received the other two in return for his services in the Soviet Union.

Levanto migrated to Israel in 1990 taking the works with her, according to Cohen. He says technical analyzes support his claim.

The three projects were analyzed by the Institut d’Art Conservation et Couleur in Paris, as well as by the German Laboratory of Elizabeth and Earhard Gigers.

Although the dating of pigments and other elements refers to Malevic’s life, the elements are not sufficient to certify that the works really belong to the artist.