French court confirms sentence for Picasso's electrician over hoarded art

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, March 28, 2024


French court confirms sentence for Picasso's electrician over hoarded art
In this file photo Claude Picasso, son of late Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, waits before for the appeal trial of Pierre Le Guennec (not pictured), accused of receiving stolen goods after being found in possession of paintings by Picasso, at the court in Aix-en-Provence, southeastern France on October 31, 2016. BORIS HORVAT / AFP.



LYON (AFP).- A French court on Tuesday confirmed the two-year suspended jail terms given to Pablo Picasso's former electrician and his wife, who hoarded 271 of the great painter's works in a garage for four decades.

The verdict by the Lyon court is the latest twist in a decade-long legal saga, which took the couple, who claim the works were a gift, all the way to France's top appeals court.

Pierre and Danielle Le Guennec were first given two-year suspended terms in 2015 after being convicted of possession of stolen goods over the huge trove of works by Picasso, including nine rare Cubist collages and a work from his famous Blue Period.

That verdict was upheld in 2016 by a higher court but then quashed by the Cour de Cassation, which ordered a retrial.

The former electrician, 80, and his wife, 76, were not in court Tuesday when they were found guilty for a third time.

"It is a triumph of truth and marks the end of a cover-up", said Jean-Jacques Neuer, lawyer for Picasso's son Claude Ruiz-Picasso.

He accused Pierre Le Guennec of playing for art dealers "the role that drug mules play in drug-trafficking", alleging that rich art dealers had sought to exploit the couple.

The Le Guennecs have always denied stealing the works.

At his original trial Pierre Le Guennec claimed that Picasso had presented him with the artworks towards the end of his life to reward him for his loyal service.

But he later changed his account, telling an appeal court that the works were part of a huge collection that Picasso's widow Jacqueline asked him to conceal after the artist's death in 1973.

Le Guennec said he stored more than a dozen garbage bags of unsigned works which Jacqueline later retrieved, except for one bag which she left him saying: "Keep this, it's for you."

The affair came to light when Pierre Le Guennec attempted to get the works authenticated by Claude Ruiz-Picasso in 2010.

The artist's heirs promptly filed a complaint against him, triggering an investigation.

Commenting on the latest ruling, Neuer said: "If you have 271 works by Picasso and you want to put them on the international market you need a certificate of authenticity.

"If you see the Picasso estate and tell them these works fell from the sky or you picked them up from the bric-a-brac market, there is little chance anyone will believe you."


© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

November 20, 2019

Getty opens 'Balthazar: A Black African King in Medieval and Renaissance Art'

A tiny Brontë book comes home

European police bust gang looting artifacts in Italy

No more excuses for Gauguin

Not ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-d! Lalanne sheep sculptures sell for $468K at Palm Beach Modern's Nov. 9 auction

French court confirms sentence for Picasso's electrician over hoarded art

Christie's announces highlights of the Important Russian Art Auction

Early Mozart minuets sell for 372,500 euros at Paris auction

Soulis Auctions' Dec. 7 Winter Fine Art sale shines spotlight on rare Alphonse Mucha graphics

Kanye West unveils opera to premiere this month

Sotheby's Milan announces sale of Modern & Contemporary Art

Russell Lee: A Documentarian's personal Kodachromes exhibition opens at The Redwood Library & Athenæum

Exhibition of hyperreal charcoal drawings by Robert Longo opens at Metro Pictures

'Spirit of the Southern Speedway' by Hunter Barnes released this week by Reel Art Press

The Chicago Symphony's brass is world-famous. Hear it blast

Tiffany & Co. fancy intense blue diamond ring to lead Phillips' Jewels Sale at $1.5-2.5 Million

Colette Senghor, wife of Senegal's poet-president, dies in France

Turkmenistan stages first opera after 19-year ban

Art Design Chicago to return in 2024, with increased budget and new grant opportunities

Doris Day's two day auction event announced by Julien's Auctions

Handbags x Hype features the largest collection of Supreme offered at Christie's

Miller & Miller announces highlights included in its Watches & Jewelry auction

Hollis Taggart now represents William Buchina

Paddle8 announces new CEO

Christie's Paris Design Sale achieves a total of $10,077,273




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful