Michael Coy
HOW can a painting, three feet by two feet, simply disappear?
The answer is, when someone decides – let’s put this delicately – “That picture would look better on my living-room wall than here in the council office.”
Mind you, the story of how the Town Council of Arcos de la Frontera came by the work of art isn’t exactly glorious.
Some 200 years ago, the Society of Jesus – the religious order better known as the Jesuits – was expelled from Spain. The Ayuntamiento of Arcos ‘acquired’ the Jesuits’ valuables, including a painting of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
There are eight places in the Bible, including Luke 1:42, where (say Catholics) Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus, without getting pregnant in the usual way.
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This idea (known as the “Immaculate Conception”), has been popular in Spain for centuries. If you know a Spanish woman called “Inma”, she was named in honour of this idea.
Painters in the 1700s and 1800s made their living by depicting the concept on canvas.
So the 300-year-old painting was hanging in the Town Hall of Arcos de la Fontera.
At least, it HAD been hanging there until someone noticed – in March of this year – that it had disappeared.
A lot of people were questioned, but no explanation was forthcoming.
In Spain, no-one will take any action in respect of a crime until they receive a denuncia. This is worth knowing. If your car is stolen, for example, you must ‘denounce’ the theft – otherwise, the insurance company will not pay out.
The Arcos councillor with responsibility for Culture decided it was time to bring in law enforcement. Andres Camarena went to the Town Hall’s legal department to file a complaint.
An investigation was conducted into whether the painting was being sold on the black market for antiques, but nothing was found. Not a trace.
Finally, the Cadiz Guardia Civil recovered the 18th-century painting in Arcos, property of the town council, that had been illegally removed.
The work has now been recovered and handed over to the City Council’s Culture Department.
So where had it disappeared to?
The investigation began after the Arcos de la Frontera Courts received a complaint filed by the City Council’s Municipal Heritage Delegate regarding the disappearance of a work belonging to the town hall.
The Court of First Instance and Investigation No. 4 of Arcos de la Frontera entrusted the investigation to the Organic Unit of the Judicial Police of Cádiz to clarify the reported events.
After months of searching municipal offices and warehouses without success, council officials decided to file a complaint with the Guardia Civil.
Initial investigations focused on ruling out the possibility that the work was being offered fraudulently through websites specialising in the sale of works of art, but this possibility was ruled out after an intensive search.
Once this latter possibility was discarded, the pointed to a “prominent municipal employee” of the City Council, who had already passed away.
This person could have removed the painting from the municipal premises, so the relevant arrangements were made with the family to locate the work.
After carefully explaining to the family the circumstances under which the work left the council, and the obligations, consequences, and specificities affecting its ownership, authorisations were obtained from the owners for access to the family home where the painting was located.
In other words, someone important who worked at the Town Hall felt a personal attachment to the painting’s theme.
He (let’s assume it was a man) helped himself to the picture. Maybe that’s harsh. Let’s just say, he loved his work so much, he took some of it home with him.
Then he died.
When the Guardia Civil went to the dead man’s home, they said to the grieving family, “We’re looking for a painting, rather similar to that one there.”
Given that the Town Hall could prove its ownership, the family knew they would lose any legal action. (Did anyone inform the Jesuits?)
The painting was taken down and returned to the council, in perfect condition, for the enjoyment of all the residents of Arcos de la Frontera.
A happy ending.
