Spanish authorities are investigating the disappearance of a €600,000 Pablo Picasso painting that vanished while being transported from Madrid to Granada.
The 1919 gouache and pencil artwork, Naturaleza muerta con guitarra (Still Life with Guitar), measuring just 12.7 by 9.8 centimeters, was due to be displayed at an exhibition organized by the CajaGranada Foundation.
The painting, owned by a private Madrid collector, was part of a shipment of loaned works delivered by van on October 3.
Some pieces had not been numbered, complicating inventory checks, and the missing artwork was discovered when staff unpacked items under video surveillance the following Monday.
The foundation promptly alerted police, who are examining whether the painting disappeared during transit, with reports suggesting the van may have stopped overnight near Granada. Picasso’s works have long been targets for art thefts, with major heists in 1976 and 2007 resulting in millions of dollars’ worth of losses.
