The art thieves tried to sell the forged painting for ?1.2m.
The Interior Ministry of Spain says police have arrested four people for trying to sell a forged Pablo Picasso oil painting for up to ?1.2 million ($1.5 million).
The canvas, which is a counterfeit version of a 1964 work called ?The bust of Jeune Garcon?, was accompanied by false authenticity documents bearing the signatures of Paloma, one of the Pablo Picasso’s daughters, and also that of a renowned French art expert.
Investigators sought professional advice from museum experts and determined that the original painting, which is slightly different to the offered fake, carries official authentication by Maya Widmaier, the Malaga-born painter’s oldest surviving offspring.
The ministry said that officers arrested three art brokers involved in the offer for sale and the current owner, a well-known Madrid antiquarian.
