Mysterious disappearance: A painting by the most "expensive" artist in the world has disappeared in Spain

The National Police of Spain is investigating a criminal case on the disappearance of the painting "Still Life with a Guitar" by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), whose whereabouts have been unknown since October 2. This is reported by the portal El Pais.

The work was to be delivered from Madrid to the exhibition "Still Life. Eternity of inertia" in the Cultural Center of Granada (Centro Cultural CajaGranada), while the picture never reached its destination.

We are talking about the work of 1919, made in gouache and graphite on paper, the size of the painting is 12.7×9.8 cm. The still life was kept in a private collection. The owner, whose name was not disclosed, purchased Picasso's work several years ago for € 60 thousand, now the insurance value of the loss is about € 600 thousand.

After leaving the owner's house, the painting was delivered to the office of the transport company. She stayed there until the remaining 57 works for the exhibition were ready for transportation. Then the cargo left the office in Madrid on October 2 and headed to Granada, this road takes about 4 hours and does not require an overnight stop. However, this transportation involved a stopover for the night 27 km from the destination. According to the police, two people who delivered the painting to the exhibition took turns guarding the transported cargo. On the morning of October 3, the paintings for the exhibition were in the cultural center.

"In one continuous movement, all the paintings were moved from the van to the freight elevator and then to the exhibition hall. The whole process was monitored by a video surveillance system," said an employee of the center who received the cargo.

At the same time, the curator of the exhibition found that not all the paintings were properly numbered and provided with links, it was impossible to carry out a detailed inspection of the cargo without unpacking it. Having superficially checked the cargo, the center's employees signed the acceptance certificate, and the representatives of the transport company left.

The paintings remained in the package under video surveillance over the weekend. On the morning of Monday, October 6, when unpacking, it turned out that the cargo did not include Picasso's work.

The police said that the investigation is focused on establishing the exact time of the disappearance of the painting. No one has been arrested yet, but investigators are checking possible violations during transportation and in the organization of acceptance.

"The picture seemed to dissolve between Madrid and Granada. All other 57 works arrived safely. Only Picasso has disappeared," says a source at the CajaGranada foundation.

Pablo Picasso had an exceptional influence on the visual arts of the XX century, is considered the founder of Cubism. According to the Museum of Modern Art (New York), he created about 20 thousand works, also working with graphics, sculpture, ceramics.

According to experts, Picasso is considered the most "expensive" artist in the world. In 2008 alone, the price index of his works (annual sales at auction) amounted to $ 262 million. Sold for $ 179 million in 2015, the painting "Algerian Women" became the most expensive painting sold at auction in history at that time. Also, Picasso's works occupy the first place in the world in popularity among kidnappers.