Mandatory credit: Policia Nacional
A man who allegedly tried to export and sell a fake Leonardo Da Vinci painting in Italy for $1.43 million was arrested at the border post of Modane, France, following a two-year investigation.
The suspect from Spain was reportedly planning to sell the painting of Italian aristocrat Gian Giacomo Trivulzio to a buyer from Milan, when an expired permit alerted French customs agents.
According to the press release issued by Spanish National Police, the arrest came two years after the French customs agents first confiscated the artwork - supposedly created in Milan between 1482 and 1499 - in July 2022.
Spanish police recovered the artwork from the French border and sent it for an expert analysis to the Museo Nacional del Prado. The analysis indicated that the painting was created in the early 20th century as an intentional fake and was really worth around $3,000 - 5,000.
The authorities charged the man with smuggling and arrested him.
A man who allegedly tried to export and sell a fake Leonardo Da Vinci painting in Italy for $1.43 million was arrested at the border post of Modane, France, following a two-year investigation.
The suspect from Spain was reportedly planning to sell the painting of Italian aristocrat Gian Giacomo Trivulzio to a buyer from Milan, when an expired permit alerted French customs agents.
According to the press release issued by Spanish National Police, the arrest came two years after the French customs agents first confiscated the artwork - supposedly created in Milan between 1482 and 1499 - in July 2022.
Spanish police recovered the artwork from the French border and sent it for an expert analysis to the Museo Nacional del Prado. The analysis indicated that the painting was created in the early 20th century as an intentional fake and was really worth around $3,000 - 5,000.
The authorities charged the man with smuggling and arrested him.
Mandatory credit: Policia Nacional
A man who allegedly tried to export and sell a fake Leonardo Da Vinci painting in Italy for $1.43 million was arrested at the border post of Modane, France, following a two-year investigation.
The suspect from Spain was reportedly planning to sell the painting of Italian aristocrat Gian Giacomo Trivulzio to a buyer from Milan, when an expired permit alerted French customs agents.
According to the press release issued by Spanish National Police, the arrest came two years after the French customs agents first confiscated the artwork - supposedly created in Milan between 1482 and 1499 - in July 2022.
Spanish police recovered the artwork from the French border and sent it for an expert analysis to the Museo Nacional del Prado. The analysis indicated that the painting was created in the early 20th century as an intentional fake and was really worth around $3,000 - 5,000.
The authorities charged the man with smuggling and arrested him.