Police discover $59.1m painting underneath Brazilian bed
A significant work by the Brazilian artist Tarsila do Amaral – one of South America’s most important modern artists – has been discovered beneath a bed during an investigation of stolen works.
The work by Amaral is reported to be worth 300 million reals ($59.1m). Police found it as part of 16 paintings in an operation that included 709 million reals ($139m) worth of artworks. There had also been a significant amount of jewellery and cash that had been stolen.
The crime had reportedly been committed as part of an elaborate con devised by the daughter of an 82-year-old Rio de Janeiro woman by the name of Genevieve Boghici. She had once been wedded to Jean Boghci, a Brazilian art dealer with an envious collection, now deceased.
The unnamed daughter had used a clairvoyant to make her mother believe that she was unwell and persuaded her to transfer money for what she suspected was “spiritual work” with an Afro-Brazilian priestess.
After a while, though, Boghici has grown suspicious of her daughter’s plan and stopped transferring the payments. She was subsequently locked in her house and beaten up while her daughter and some accomplices stole the paintings.
The do Amaral painting in question is named Sol Poente (Setting Sun), made in 1929, and is considered a historically valuable piece of work. It depicts animals in blob-like shapes beneath a resplendent sun and green scenery.
Sol Poente was ultimately discovered underneath a bed in beachside property in Ipanema. In a Twitter video posted by a Brazilian newspaper yesterday, we see the police investigators removing the painting from underneath the bed before exclaiming, “Fucking hell!” in Portuguese.
Also found beneath the bed were artworks by Emiliano di Cavalcanti, Alberto Guignard, and Cícero Dias, along with another two paintings by do Amaral. The three Amaral works amassed a total worth of more than $100m.
