The Belgian Police have found a painting by Pablo Picasso in a basement in the city of Antwerp, as reported this Tuesday by the Belgian media Le Soir, which adds that a painting by Marc Chagall has also been found in the same place.
The paintings, according to the aforementioned media, were found correctly packaged with their original frame and without any damage. The federal judicial police in Namur (Belgium) found that these two pieces had been stolen in Tel Aviv (Israel) in 2010.
The Belgian media points out that the Police were informed at the end of 2022 that a Belgian citizen residing in Namur was putting ‘Man in Prayer’ by Marc Chagall and ‘The Head’ by Picasso for sale. These two works were the subject of a major theft committed in February 2010 from an art collector in Tel Aviv.
In total, the information continues, the thieves took jewelry worth an estimated $680,000 and two paintings with a combined value estimated at $900,000 at the time of the events.
Police have been investigating the suspect for several months and last week searched his home, where they found a significant sum of money, but not the paintings. The investigation later took officers to Antwerp. The main suspect has been placed under arrest warrant.
