The mysterious theft of the five paintings of Francis Bacon’s close friend in the heart of Madrid in 2015 is on its way to being completely solved. The National Police has recovered the fourth of the five stolen works – worth five million euros – thanks to the arrest of two people allegedly involved in the theft. Only one painting remains, its whereabouts unknown, the property of Bacon’s friend who received part of the pictorial inheritance.
The investigation began in 2015 after the theft, from a home in Madrid, of five paintings by the artist Francis Bacon valued at a total of 25 million euros. The works are the property of José Capelo, 60, an engineer who is fond of art, who reported the theft, which was investigated during the first stages of the investigations with great secrecy.
The investigations of the agents of the Historical Heritage Brigade led to the arrest in Madrid, last February, of two men allegedly involved in a crime of receiving two of the stolen paintings.
The investigations revealed that the two paintings pending recovery had been in the hands of those arrested. The investigations were going in the right direction. This Thursday, the National Police reported that it had recovered a quarter of the paintings stolen from a property in Madrid.
Since the investigation began, sixteen people allegedly involved in the theft have been arrested, among whom were both the intellectual and material authors of the robbery, with four of the five stolen works recovered.
The investigation remains open in order to locate the remaining work and arrest the people who have it in their possession, focusing the investigative work on Spanish citizens who maintain relations with organized groups from Eastern Europe.
