The sentence could not be clearer: the now condemned received a sculpture from the hands of the nuns of the Franciscan convent of the Poor Clares, in Grenadeto restore it. He knew it was something important but he said nothing, he limited himself to making “a rough copy” which he gave to the nuns and sold the original to a gallery owner for 90,000 euros. He then tried to sell it at auction new York for 350,000 euros, but the work has been recovered and is safe.
We have to go back to April 2018. The nuns offered the restorer a polychrome wooden sculpture of Saint Margaret of Cortona that they had at the convent of Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles and which only two months before had been closed. The man saw that he was faced with a succulent agreement and, to put it bluntly (as crude as the copy he gave in exchange, to use the same expression of the sentence) he wanted to give them change.
It worked. It has preserved the original image, from the Baroque period, dated between 1700 and 1720, attributed to Jose de Mora and valued between 300,000 and 400,000. Although in his defense, when he was accused of misappropriation and receipt, he declared that he had bought it from the nuns, as well as another batch of works for a total of 21,000 euros, he has in no way proven that. “Does not provide any documents to justify it», Underlines the Court in the judgment.
“The thesis that he knew nothing (about the origin of the sculpture) is deeply implausible“, indicates the sentence, which leaves no doubt that the restaurateur wanted to take advantage of it. He went to an antique dealer and sold it to him for 90,000 euros, a sum that the latter, also accused of the two aforementioned offenses, was going to repay as soon as things went well for him.
Traveled to Maastricht and New York
First, the piece was exhibited at an auction in Maastricht (Netherlands) and then the same thing was going to happen at the Art and Antiques Fair in new York. On December 10, 2019, it indeed obtained an export certificate for this purpose. However, the gallery owner was acquitted since it is not proven that he acted in bad faith, that he knew the illegal nature of the operation.
The restaurateur was aware of everything, the Court now decides. And his strategy of making sure the nuns sold it to him It wouldn’t even have worked if it were true.since the sculpture is protected because it is part of the historical heritage catalog. “It is a non-transferable asset”, underlines the judgment rendered this Tuesday, October 15.
As far as possible, the restaurateur did not fare badly, considering that he was initially asked for five years for misappropriation and another three for receiving. The work It is now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts.which would possibly annul what the judgment says: it must be returned to the Territorial Delegation of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía. And the aforementioned museum is run by the Council.
This organization, in turn, should return it to the Convent of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, also called Las Vistillas, but, as we have already pointed out, it closed its doors in 2018, after almost five centuries of activity . Realejo neighborhood because only three nuns remained there, who were transferred to other convents.
