The world is full of missing treasure. 271 of those treasures were found in a retired French electrician’s garage, all works of the master, Pablo Picasso.
The story goes: Pablo Picasso hired Pierre Le Guennec, now in his 70s, to do some electrical work waaaaay back in the day. Picasso offered him several pieces of his work as a payment for the services offered. The precise nature of the electrical work was a series of alarm systems that were installed in several of Picasso’s homes.
On three occasions earlier this year, Le Guennec wrote to Picasso’s son, Claude, the representative of Pablo Picasso’s estate. He enclosed several snapshots of the works, hoping for authentication. Because Claude had never seen them before, he dismissed the works as fakes.
Unsatisfied with the lack of response, Le Guennec continued his pursuit of authenticity by approaching the Picasso Administration and the office of Claude Picasso.
While there, Le Guennec presented nearly 200 works of the late Picasso. Many of the paintings weren’t dated, reason enough for Claude to believe they should have never left the studio.
Such an argument doesn’t really hold weight, when clearly these were personal works offered as a gift, or perhaps Le Guennec jacked them all, Picasso never noticed, and he waited nearly 40 years after the artist’s death until he sought certificates of authentication…? Yeah. I don’t think so–but you never know.
In October, French Police raided the home of Le Guennec, arresting the former electrician for questioning. After answering their questions, stating that Pablo and his wife Jacqueline offered the paintings for his expertise, he was released without being charged of any crime.
Among the works that were offered: A painting from his Blue Period, a load of sketches and portraits of his first wife, ballerina Olga Khokhlova and several other works that were completed between 1900-1932.
Comments
No comments.