Vanished Picasso painting found, forged artwork selling plot busted

MADRID/FRANKFURT: Spanish police said Friday that a Pablo Picasso painting that vanished en route to an exhibition has been found, raising doubts if it was ever loaded onto a transport truck, as German and Swiss police have bust a plot to sell suspected forgeries of paintings by artists including Rembrandt, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro for huge sums.

“Still Life with Guitar”, a 1919 gouache and pencil work valued at around 600,000 euros ($700,000), disappeared in early October while being transported from Madrid to the southern city of Granada.

Read more: Picasso painting goes missing en route to Spanish exhibition

The artwork, which belongs to a private collector in the Spanish capital, was set to be displayed as part of a new exhibition at the CajaGranada Foundation.

But when the truck’s contents were unpacked on October 6, the curator noticed that the Picasso piece was missing.

All items delivered by the truck had been under video surveillance since their arrival three days earlier, the CajaGranada Foundation said in a statement.

The missing painting was reported to police, who confirmed its recovery on Friday, though they did not disclose where it was found.

“Initial investigations suggest that the painting may not have been loaded onto the transport truck,” said a National Police statement.

Police released images of their scientific experts examining the package containing the recovered piece.

The foundation expressed hope that “Still Life with Guitar” would still be displayed as part of the exhibition, which opened on October 9 and runs until January 11.

A TARGET OF THIEVES

Picasso’s works are frequently targeted by thieves due to their high value. Two of his paintings recently sold for more than $140 million at auction.

In 1976, more than 100 Picasso works were stolen from the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France. All the pieces were eventually recovered.

Picasso, born in Malaga in 1881 and who died in 1973, is regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

FAKE ARTWORK

A 77-year-old German man, the main suspect, allegedly attempted to sell 20 fake paintings, which also included purported works by Rubens, Frida Kahlo and Amedeo Modigliani, aided by 10 accomplices.

The paintings were being offered for between 400,000 euros and about 130 million euros ($465,000 and $150 million), police in Germany’s Bavaria state said in a statement.

Police carried out searches last week in several cities in southern Germany as well as in Berlin, several parts of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, they said.

Authorities were alerted to the plot when the main suspect attempted to sell two paintings supposedly by Picasso, including a portrait of Dora Maar, a French photographer, painter and poet who was the artist’s best-known muse.

He also allegedly tried to find buyers for a copy of Rembrandt’s famous painting, “De Staalmeesters”, for 120 million Swiss francs ($150 million).

Police said this attempt was especially “bizarre” as the original work is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Meanwhile, the copy, thought to be from the 20th century, was found in the possession of an 84-year-old Swiss woman, who is also under investigation.

The main suspect and another German man aged 74, accused of preparing reports to confirm the works’ authenticity, were arrested when police carried out raids. They have since been released on bail.