A small but valuable Pablo Picasso painting has gone missing during transport from Madrid to Granada, prompting a full investigation by Spain’s Policía Nacional.
The work, titled Naturaleza muerta con guitarra (Still Life with Guitar), was part of a 57-piece shipment headed for the exhibition Bodegon. La eternidad de lo inerte at the Centro Cultural CajaGranada.
The missing painting, dated 1919, is a gouache and graphite on paper, measuring just 12.7 x 9.8cm, but had been insured for €600,000.
It comes from a private collection and was due to be displayed alongside works by Juan Gris, Magritte, Maria Blanchard and Antonio Lopez in a major show exploring the evolution of still life.
According to sources close to the case cited by Europa Press, the Picasso piece was safely stored at a Madrid facility on September 25, ready for its scheduled transfer to Granada in early October.
The transport company collected the full set of works on Friday October 3 and drove them south, stopping overnight in Deifontes (Granada province) as part of their logistics route.
When the full shipment arrived at CajaGranada on October 6 and unpacking began, the Picasso was nowhere to be found.
Upon delivery, the art pieces were unloaded and stored in a camera-monitored area, but the absence of detailed package-by-package numbering reportedly prevented thorough verification before unpacking.
The centre’s exhibition coordinator and curatorial lead noticed the Picasso’s absence during setup, immediately alerting organisers and security.
Internal video surveillance reportedly showed no suspicious incidents within the exhibition space during the process.
The investigation continues.
