Painting that looks like missing Picasso seen on Marcos photos of visit to Imelda

One of the paintings on the wall of former First Lady Imelda Marcos caught the eye of the public after the camp of presumptive president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. posted pictures of his and son Sandro's visit to the family matriarch after Eleksyon 2022.

According to Mark Salazar's report on "24 Oras", the artwork looked like Pablo Picasso's Reclining Woman VI--one of the 156 missing paintings out of the over 300 masterpieces the Marcoses bought during the regime of the late former dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

“Doon sa 300 plus na mga paintings, ang missing pa rin were about 156, and among the 156 paintings was this Picasso na female reclining na binili ng mga Marcos for $45,100,” former Presidential Commission on Godd Government chairman Andres Bautista said.

(Of the 300, around 156 are still missing. One of them was the Picasso female reclining which Marcos bought for $45,000.)

Bautista said the PCGG went to Imelda's Pacific Plaza residence in either 2012 or 2013 to ask her whether she was the owner of a Claude Monet painting at that time was sold for $32 million.

It was then that he saw what looked like the missing Picasso. "

According to Bautista, the list of missing paintings is accessible on PCGG’s website which also included a water lily painting by Claude Monet which the presidential commission found being sold for $32-million back in 2010. 

“Nakita namin ‘yung Picasso painting. Sabi ko, ‘uy bakit nandyan ‘yan?’” Bautista said.

(We saw the Picasso painting so I wondered why it was there.)

Bautista said the PCGG sought authority from the Sandiganbayan to reclaim paintings still in possession of Imelda which also prompted the PCGG, Solicitor General and the National Bureau of Investigation to launch a joint operation in her house in Makati City on September 29, 2014.

The authorities seized 15 paintings from the Marcos mansion in San Juan.

“Mayroon kaming paintings na nakuha…isang klase ng paintings pero tatlo sila. Di namin alam kung alin ang genuine o replica…o lahat kopya. Di namin sure. Sila lang, experts lang (makakapagsabi),” an official said then.

(We seized paintings but one painting has three versions. We don’t know what is genuine or replica… or it may be all copies. We don’t know for sure. Only experts can say.)

The missing Picasso was also said to have been seen in the documentary "The Kingmaker". 

"I think ng pinakamahal na Picasso ngayon na ibinebenta $155M. I don't know how much this one particularly costs," he said.

(I think the most expensive Picasso piece is being sold for $155M. I don't know how much this one particularly costs.)

GMA News reached out to Imelda but she has yet to respond as of press time.

Marcos' spokesman Vic Rodriguez has challenged Bautista to return to the country and make his allegations here . -Sundy Locus/NB, GMA News