Greece, recovered a Picasso (which falls during presentation!) and a Mondrian stolen in 2012

Greek authorities have found two works, one by Pablo Picasso and one by Piet Mondrian, that had been stolen in 2012 from the National Gallery in Athens. The two paintings were found in the town of Keratea, Attica. Picasso’s work is a 1939 Head of a Woman, a portrait of the artist and his lover, Dora Maar, which the artist gave to Greece in 1949 in recognition of their struggle against the Germans during the Nazi occupation. Indeed, the back of the painting bears a handwritten inscription by the Spanish artist that reads “For the Greek people, a tribute from Picasso.” It is precisely Picasso’s message, which makes the work valuable and unmistakable, that would have made its sale impossible, according to Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni: evidently the works were stolen with the aim of being placed on the market. The other painting, however, is a 1905 Mondrian Mill.

The works were found in the bed of a dried-up canal, wrapped in plastic. There is one suspect in the theft, a 49-year-old Greek worker who is currently under arrest. Police have not revealed how it was possible to trace the location where the works were hidden, nor the identity of the suspect. However, it is known that Greek police had received a tip last February that the Picasso work was still inside Greece’s borders, and that a black market sale for $20 million had been attempted.

Picasso, Head of a Woman (1939; oil on canvas; Athens, National Gallery)

Piet Mondrian, Mill (1905; oil on canvas; Athens, National Gallery)

According to what the suspect revealed to authorities, the theft took six months of planning. Nearly every day, the man monitored the movements of National Gallery security officers and other museum employees, jotting down the moments when they were off. Thus, on the morning of Jan. 9, 2012, the thief repeatedly set off a false alarm in another part of the building, thus distracting the staff, and was able to take the works away thanks in part to the fact that the security officers disabled the alarm for a few moments. Three works were taken by the thief: in addition to the two recovered, there was also a pen drawing by Guglielmo Caccia, an important late 16th-century artist. However, according to BBC reports, the 49-year-old confessed that the work had been damaged during the theft, and therefore wanted to dispose of it by flushing it down the toilet and flushing the toilet.

According to Greek Interior Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis, the recovery operation was a “great success. The police worked systematically in a cooperative and creative manner, and they should be commended for that. In the new National Gallery, the paintings will have the space they deserve.”

The two works were returned on June 28, and Greek authorities were not even short of breath during the press conference at which the find was unveiled, as the Picasso and Mondrian were badly and crudely propped up on a vertical support, resulting in the Picasso painting slipping and falling in front of the cameras(video here), fortunately without consequence.

Greece, recovered a Picasso (which falls during presentation!) and a Mondrian stolen in 2012

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