The mystery of the ‘missing £125million Picasso masterpiece’ could finally be solved with a new photo

A ‘MISSING’ painting by Pablo Picasso has reportedly been discovered – in the home of a dictator’s wife.

The painting Reclining Woman VI appeared to be hanging on the wall above a sofa during an interview with the new President of the Philippines, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

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The late Spanish artist’s priceless piece is believed to have been originally confiscated from the Marcos family in 2014 along with seven other paintings.

The family are believed to have bought it with the nearly £8billion they looted from their people during the Marcos dictatorship.

Eagle-eyed TV viewers spotted the painting in a local news segment interviewing Imelda Marcos, wife of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was forced to flee the country after a 1986 revolution amid allegations of vote-rigging and human rights abuses.

The painting – said to be worth around £125m – was first spotted in US director Lauren Greenfield’s 2019 documentary The Kingmaker.

In the documentary, the former First Lady displayed the painting along with other expensive and rare artifacts in her collection.

As the camera pans to the Picasso, she says, “[My husband] would say, ‘Imelda, I know how to make real money, but you know how to spend money because you buy beauty.'”

This prompted a renewed search of the home by Filipino officials tasked with recovering the Marcos’ stolen loot.

However, when investigators arrived at Imelda’s home in Makati City, south of the capital Manila, they could not find the painting.

Now it has resurfaced nearly three years later, just as Marcos’ son, Marcos Jr., is set to take over after this week’s contentious presidential election.

It is not known if the painting is authentic or a replica.

“The most important Picasso painting sold for $155 million,” said former Philippine magistrate Andy Bautista.

“This painting is worth more or less about eight billion pesos (£125 million). Now of course we don’t know anything about the quality of this painting, but Pablo Picasso is a master of painting and this is a very valuable piece.”

He called on the Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG), the organization he formerly headed and set up to reclaim the Marcos’ ill-gotten gains, to continue chasing after the corrupt family’s wealth.

“I hope the new PCGG officers and the Attorney General’s Office can take care of this,” he added. “Please take it while there is still time.”

[My husband] would say, “Imelda, I know how to make real money, but you know how to spend money right because you buy beauty.”

Imelda MarcosFormer First Lady of the Philippines

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who won the presidential election in an apparent landslide victory, is nicknamed “Bongbong” and known to his supporters as BBM.

He has close ties to corruption, murder and censorship, but was still chosen over rival candidate Leni Roberdo.

His father ruled the Philippines with an iron fist for more than two decades before being ousted by his own people.

At least 3,240 people were killed during his brutal rule between 1965 and 1986, human rights monitor Amnesty International estimates.

Another 34,000 were tortured and some 70,000 imprisoned while the elder Marcos remained in power through violent martial law.

While terrorizing his people, he also lined his and his family’s pockets by stealing five to ten billion dollars from the state coffers.

Not surprisingly, this plunged the country into debt and sparked a revolution, but the tyrant was able to flee to Hawaii with his money.

The PCGG was formed after the Marcos fled the country to get back what they had stolen.

A number of “false and misleading claims” were allegedly made on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube during this month’s election campaign in the run-up to the election, according to an investigation by AFP news agency.

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