What could be a lost portrait of Pablo Picasso has been seen in the home of Imelda Marcos, the philippines’ first ex-wife and widow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who allegedly embezzled billions of Philippine dollars before being expelled after his death. his son Ferdinand Marcos Jr. won the presidential election this week.
After winning this week’s election, the family circle published photographs of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. celebrating with his mother at home, and Picasso’s “Lying Woman VI” appears on the wall of a living room above a sofa.
The painting was one of 8 targeted by the Philippine government for a seizure of Marcos’ assets in 2014, but the one seized by the anti-corruption court later turned out to be a replica, according to Andres Bautista, the former president of the company tasked with recovering the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth.
It’s unclear that the portrait shown in this week’s photographs is also a copy (Imelda is known for buying and displaying fake artwork), but Bautista suggested the government act.
A 2019 documentary about Marcos’ circle of relatives titled The Kingmaker also captured footage of picasso after the 2014 seizure, director Lauren Greenfield confirmed.
Before Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was ousted from the presidency after a popular uprising in 1986, he allegedly embezzled up to $10 billion from the nation’s coffers that were used to push a luxurious way of life for himself and his circle of relatives by purchasing great shoe treasures. and jewelry for Imelda, and the acquisition of an art collection worth millions, according to the Philippine Corruption and Corruption Tribunal. Most of the wealth has not recovered. During his 21-year tenure, his leadership has arrested another 70,000 people for subversion, killing and torturing thousands more, according to Amnesty International. Imelda was convicted on corruption charges in 2018, but has filed an appeal. Despite the infamous reputation of his circle of relatives, unofficial effects show that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. won this week’s election in a landslide. after a years-long crusade to rehabilitate the symbol of the circle of relatives that critics said was based on mass disinformation.
Son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos on the verge of the presidential race in the Philippines (Forbes)
Picasso ‘lost’ in the space of Imelda Marcos after the electoral victory of his son (The Guardian)
Who is “Bongbong” Marcos Jr and why are some Filipinos worried about their family’s return?(CNN)