Spanish customs seize €450K Picasso sketch at Ibiza airport
Spanish customs agents seized a Picasso sketch worth over €450,000 from a passenger who arrived at Ibiza airport without declaring the artwork, Spain's customs office said Monday.
Agents found the 1966 sketch, dubbed "Trois personnages", on July 5th in the suitcase of a man who arrived in the holiday island on a flight from Zurich, the office said in a statement.
The passenger said the artwork was a simple copy and presented the agents with a handwritten receipt of 1,500 Swiss francs (1,515 euros) which he said he had paid for the sketch.
But customs agents found another receipt in the bottom of his suitcase from a Zurich art gallery for 450,000 Swiss francs (€454,000) with a reference to a work by Pablo Picasso called "Trois personnages".
According to a preliminary analysis carried out by art experts, the sketch is indeed a work by the Spanish painter and "the price charged by the gallery is in line with the market price," the statement said.
The director of Ibiza's Museu d'Art Contemporani (MACE) has reported that, "on a preliminary basis", the alleged Picasso is authentic. Photo: Hacienda/Guardia Civil
This first assessment will have to be confirmed by a "more exhaustive" analysis using "advanced techniques", it added.
The passenger faces possible charges of smuggling for failing to declare an object of value when he entered Spain.
The customs office said they had singled him out for questioning after receiving a tip from their Swiss counterparts that he was transporting a piece of art in "suspicious" conditions.
Considered to be one of most famous artists of the 20th century, Picasso spent the bulk of his long life in France, dying there in 1973.
Comments
See Also
Agents found the 1966 sketch, dubbed "Trois personnages", on July 5th in the suitcase of a man who arrived in the holiday island on a flight from Zurich, the office said in a statement.
The passenger said the artwork was a simple copy and presented the agents with a handwritten receipt of 1,500 Swiss francs (1,515 euros) which he said he had paid for the sketch.
But customs agents found another receipt in the bottom of his suitcase from a Zurich art gallery for 450,000 Swiss francs (€454,000) with a reference to a work by Pablo Picasso called "Trois personnages".
According to a preliminary analysis carried out by art experts, the sketch is indeed a work by the Spanish painter and "the price charged by the gallery is in line with the market price," the statement said.
This first assessment will have to be confirmed by a "more exhaustive" analysis using "advanced techniques", it added.
The passenger faces possible charges of smuggling for failing to declare an object of value when he entered Spain.
The customs office said they had singled him out for questioning after receiving a tip from their Swiss counterparts that he was transporting a piece of art in "suspicious" conditions.
Considered to be one of most famous artists of the 20th century, Picasso spent the bulk of his long life in France, dying there in 1973.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.