Priceless Picasso painting vanishes on its way to exhibition after ‘suspicious overnight stop’

The police are investigating the suspected theft after the van it was being transported in took an unplanned stop.

The journey is normally a four-hour drive but the couriers took an overnight stop in Deifontes, a small town 15 miles from Granada.

The drivers reportedly took turns sleeping inside the van to guard the cargo, valued more than €6million.

The mayor of Deifontes, Paco Abril Tenorio, said he did not understand why the drivers stopped when Granada is over a quarter of an hour away.

The painting came from a private collection in Madrid on loan with 57 other paintings and was to be displayed in a still life exhibition organised by the CajaGranada Foundation, a cultural organisation.

The painting was packed on September 25 and left the capital on October 2.

On October 3, the van reached the cultural centre where the works were unloaded in a video-monitored area.

When staff went to unpack the crates for installation on October 6, they realised the painting, worth €600,000, was gone.

Staff said it was impossible to verify if the packages matched the shipment list without opening them as the crates were incorrectly numbered.

Security video and route logs are being analysed to determine if the painting disappeared during the stop in Deifontes, in transit, or after arrival in Granada.

The police have not yet arrested anyone in connection with the missing still life.

Still Life with Guitar was painted in gouache and lead pencil on paper and is considered a small example from Picasso’s post-cubist period.

The 13-by-10 centimetre painting sold for €60,000 several years ago before its insured value increased tenfold for the Granada exhibition, according to Ledor Fine Art.

Picasso, who was born in Malaga in 1881 and died in 1973 remains one of the world’s most valuable and frequently stolen artists.

In 1976, over 100 of his paintings, drawings, and other work was stolen from the Palais de Papes in Avignon, France.

His granddaughter had two of his paintings - worth €50million - stolen from her house in February 2007.

A sketchbook by the artist worth £6.9million was stolen from a Paris museum two years later.

In 1997 a gunman stole a Picasso from a London art gallery and fled via taxi.