This year saw a unique exhibition, “Still Life, Eternity of Stillness”, at the CajaGranada Cultural Centre in Granada, Spain. One of the exhibits was meant to be a small 1919 painting by Pablo Picasso, “Still Life with Guitar”, whose disappearance has caused a considerable stir in the art world. The work, highly valued and insured, did not arrive at the exhibition venue, which has become a mystery and the subject of a police investigation.
What Happened to the Picasso Painting?
🎨🚨 Missing Picasso! The painting “Still Life with Guitar” was supposed to be part of the exhibition in Granada, but it never arrived there. The national police are investigating this mysterious disappearance. What happened along the way?
“Still Life with Guitar” was collected from a private collector and on 2 October set off from Madrid along with 56 other works bound for the exhibition in Granada. However, when the crates meant for display were unpacked, it turned out the painting was missing. Despite constant video monitoring of the transport and unloading, no one noticed the moment of its disappearance.
Possible Causes of the Disappearance
- The lack of proper numbering and labelling of the parcels made a thorough check difficult.
- The painting was small, measuring 12.7 x 9.8 cm, which increases the risk of it being overlooked or stolen.
- The investigation is ongoing, and Spanish police are checking recordings and other leads.
Significance and Value of the Work
The painting is exceptionally valuable not only because of its author, Picasso, but also because of its unique form and history. The value of the work is estimated at around 600 thousand euros, which underlines the scale of the loss for the collector and the institution organising the exhibition.
Despite the disappearance of the most important work, the CajaGranada exhibition went ahead as planned. Visitors could admire works by artists such as Juan Gris, Maria Blanchard and René Magritte, which also form a valuable part of 20th-century artistic heritage.
