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Police investigate attempted sale of alleged stolen bacon

2021-01-08T04:01:44.713Z


A video released by Arthur Brand, the Dutch art detective, shows works with the artist's signature similar to those stolen in Madrid in 2015


Two supposedly original portraits of Francis Bacon that were part of the group of five stolen in 2015 in the center of Madrid, and valued together at around 30 million euros, have reappeared in the illegal art circuit.

Three of the works were recovered in 2017 in the Spanish capital and, now, a group close to the thieves has filmed a video and taken some photos to show that the two remaining works are in their hands and thus attract potential buyers.

Both the recording and the images are in the possession of Arthur Brand, known in the Netherlands as "the art detective", who has decided to show them to facilitate their recovery because he says that there are already people interested in acquiring the paintings.

  • Five works by Francis Bacon stolen in the heart of Madrid

  • Police recover three of the five works by Francis Bacon stolen in Madrid

Brand, who in the past has found everything from Picasso and Dalí to two Visigoth reliefs from Burgos, believes that the two

bacons

can disappear if an illegal purchase is finalized.

The Spanish Police Heritage Brigade investigating the case has been examining this video and the images for weeks and is aware of the recent attempts to sell it, but is not sure whether they are the authentic works, according to sources from the research consulted by this newspaper.

The event was considered the largest theft of contemporary art in Spain.

The video was allegedly filmed in an apartment located in Madrid, according to Brand, and the pictures are shown inside and outside the frame.

The works are on the patterned cover of a bed and in the room there is a piece of furniture painted blue and white.

The camera focuses on the paintings and Bacon's signature, and runs along the inner edge of one of the frames, where his name also appears.

In one of the photos there is a copy of EL PAÍS next to the work.

“It is a typical recording of this type of dark sale operations.

It is a way of presenting the works to the potential client, and on many occasions, they are bought by criminal circuits unrelated to the original theft.

When the leaders of a gang are arrested, they can then use the pictures as collateral to try to lower their sentences ”, explains the Dutch expert.

He says that the asking price for these portraits is four million euros and that they have been moving for a few weeks, adding: “I know there is interest in

part of some buyers, and by announcing this case on my Twitter account, I hope that maybe someone will recognize the apartment in Madrid and they can be found ”.

These are the pictures of the two missing Bacons.

Surroundings of the original thieves try to sell them for 4 million Euros.

They are in touch with interested buyers.

This might stop them.

pic.twitter.com/EigMEgsIOc

- Arthur Brand (@brand_arthur) January 7, 2021

Brand never deals directly with criminals, but operates thanks to contacts and informs the police forces of the different countries where he has recovered artistic pieces.

In this case, sources of the investigation in Spain are aware that the works are being sold, as well as the existence of the video and the photos received by the detective through other channels.

“Information about stolen art can come to me through a buyer who does not trust what they are offering, or through intermediaries.

In this case, the thieves who stole the five paintings six years ago were Spanish, and the group close to them that tries to sell them today is looking for candidates in Spanish and international markets ”.

The five paintings by Francis Bacon were the property of José Capelo, a friend of the art-loving painter who inherited them.

They were stolen in June 2015 from his home in Madrid while he was traveling in London.

In 2016, the police arrested seven people related to the robbery and a year later they did the same with three more.

The latter were the criminals allegedly used by the gang to open the house, as police sources explained to this newspaper at the time.

Among those arrested in 2016, is the alleged mastermind of the operation, Cristóbal García, an art dealer, who denied being related to the case.

The first attempted sale occurred just two months after the theft, in September 2015. The second was shortly after.

Both without success and in Spain

.

"According to my information, the sale attempt is already on an international scale and in this type of world, art is saved because they know that it is valuable to them as well, but it is not kept in good condition", adds Brand.

Source: elparis

All life articles on 2021-01-08

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