Investigation

The Guennecs were investigated on the 3rd May for hiding 271 Picasso works from 1910-1920, which they had been keeping in their house in the Maritime Alps.

The former electrician for Picasso and his wife claimed that they were given them as presents from the Spanish master and his last wife, Jacqueline, forty years ago. The examining magistrate, Catherine Bonnici, has charged them.

The couple raised suspicions when they asked for certificates of authenticity from Picasso Administration for the works given in 1946. Together, the works have an estimated value of 80 million Euros, comprising of booklets of drawings, cubist collages, studies, gouache and lithography work, dating back to 1910-1920.

The investigating officers brought to light contradictions, accrediting the argument of theft among the couple’s claims and factual elements. So, because of their date and their nature, the incriminated works could not be found at Notre-Dame-de-Vie (as maintained by the couple in question) but at the Villa California, in Cannes, deserted property of the Picasso couple. What’s more, the artist was said to have only offered recent works which he’d dated and signed, and only close friends received works of great quality. Lastly, the Picasso Administration centre provided a document issuing the following statement: Jacqueline Picasso, in 1983, gave the sum of 540,000 Francs to the Guennecs, some years after she gave them the "gift" of 271 Picasso pieces!

Eloïse Daniels © Modemonline.com