- It was discovered during an action by the GDBOP together with Europol
- The price of the canvas, which came to us by bus, could reach 50 million euros at an auction
An unknown painting of Jackson Pollock was discovered in Sofia during an action of the GDBOP together with the Greek services. The operation was overseen by Europol and investigated the activities of a group involved in the trafficking of cultural property.
The canvas was unveiled in Sofia on February 18. According to “24 Chasa”, the investigators received information about the painting from their Greek colleagues. They went to the home of the man who kept it. He led them to the apartment where the painting was hidden behind a wardrobe.
The work also had documents of origin. It turned out that it entered our country from Greece by bus and was declared. The canvas itself is signed by Pollock in the lower right corner.
Its history was also written on the back of the painting. According to the manuscript, it was painted by the artist in 1947. (Who is Jackson Pollock – see below). It was a gift for an actress. It is not clear whether the artist gave it to her personally or was asked by a friend of his to create the canvas. The artist sold the canvas in 1958, it is clear from the inscriptions on the back. It doesn’t say for what amount. Subsequently, there were several transactions. Thus, the painting was first in Romania, before it ended up in Greece, and then in our country.
It is believed that the Bulgarian was supposed to be an intermediary in a future deal. The investigation was initially launched into the concealment of the painting, which was believed to be stolen.
However, a careful check showed that the canvas was nowhere to be found. Therefore, it was converted into a crime against cultural value.
“In the course of it, it will be determined whether the painting is a cultural asset that has not been identified and registered and whether it is offered for alienation or has been alienated,” announced the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office, which yesterday took over the case from the district office.
The Bulgarian has not been charged. It is believed that he and the Greeks were looking for a buyer in Bulgaria. The painting itself has been confiscated and is being stored under appropriate conditions and with the necessary security.
An expert opinion on the authenticity and identification of the painting has been assigned to the case. According to the conclusion, the expert examination shows that the painting could be authentic. It matched Polak’s style as well as the colors and materials used. Was from its drip period. Additional examinations were ordered, including carbon dating.
After the change in jurisdiction, the supervising prosecutor gave instructions to the investigators from the GDBOP. According to unofficial information at an auction, such a work could be sold for 50 million euros. This means that on the black market the amount would be around 10 million euros. According to BNR data, during parallel actions carried out by the Greek police on the island of Crete and in Athens, a total of five other paintings by famous authors were seized.
The painting entitled The she wolf is one of Jackson Pollock’s most famous. The one discovered in Sofia is not in this style, but from his drip period.
The artist’s vices – the liquid paint and the alcoholic opiate
The author of the mysterious picture – Jackson Pollock, suffered from alcoholism throughout his life. This vice of his is also the reason why he left this world only at the age of 44 after a car accident while driving drunk.
He was born in Cody, Wyoming, in 1912 and was the youngest of five brothers. During his lifetime, success and fame followed closely on his heels. He prefers to be alone and has an unstable psyche. In 1945, he married the artist Lee Krasner, who subsequently had an important influence on his work.
The artist began using liquid paint in 1936 during one of the experimental workshops that the Mexican David Alfaro Siqueiros organized in Manhattan. He later used paint pouring as one of his main techniques for painting canvases. It is she who distinguishes him as an expressionist artist among others. The paintings “Male and Female” and “Composition with Pouring I” were created precisely with this technique. After moving to the Springs, Pollock began painting by spreading canvas on the floor of his studio. Thus he developed the “drop technique” method and began to use synthetic paints, called “alkyd enamels”. A relatively new tool at the time.
He uses stiff brushes, sticks and even syringes to apply the paint. His technique of pouring and dripping paint is considered a forerunner of the “action painting” movement.
