Picasso's 'missing' painting spotted at Imelda Marcos' home after son's election victory

The glimpse of what could be the “missing” Picasso painting in the home of Imelda Marcos was seen during the visit by her son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr after his election victory. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s historic win triggered a flurry of speculation in the Philippines as the family, which once plundered billions is set to return to power. In Monday’s presidential election, the son and namesake of the late dictator, Ferdinand Marcos won a landslide victory. After the same, he visited his mother, Imelda.

Images released by Marcos Jr’s family showed him visiting the home of his mother, who had displayed Picasso’s Femme Couche VI or Reclining Woman VI over the sofa. However, it could be a replica as the painting was one of the eight targeted for seizure by anti-corruption authorities in 2014. According to The Guardian, the unexpected appearance of the nude in blues and greens reclining on an orange and yellow bed has sparked fears that the family would now use its now-reconquered power to brazenly further stifle efforts to recover the ill-gotten wealth. 

History of Marcos’ family’s power in the Philippines

It is to note here that Marcos Sr had presided over the brutal human rights abuses in the country during his two-decade rule, starting in 1965, which also included the arrest, torture, and even killings of his opponent. According to the report, he used his power to plunder as much as $10 billion until he was ultimately deposed in 1986. The same Marcos family is accused of squirrelling away the funds in overseas bank accounts and real estate while splashing out on jewellery, artworks, and designer clothes. 

Imelda, who is the dynasty’s matriarch, became infamous for her massive shoe collection that also became the symbol of the family’s excess wealth and greed. However, since those years, the Marcos family and its supporters have rebranded their name with disinformation spread widely online about Marcos Sr’s rule, according to the report. Ruben Carranza, a former commissioner for the presidential commission on good government (PCGG), which was reportedly set up to investigate and recover the wealth received by the family through ill means, said it still remains unclear if the Picasso’s painting at Imdela’s home was genuine or not. 

“Mrs Marcos has had a habit of buying fake paintings, as well as lending fake paintings for display,” Carranza said while adding, “The fact that she’s now displaying it just shows not just the duplicity of Mrs Marcos – but that she has to display the duplicity and the extravagance that she thinks she’s displaying for Filipinos to see … That says something even worse.”

Image: AP