RIYADH, 15 June — A European of Iraqi origin and his accomplice have been arrested in Brussels in connection with the theft of paintings including two paintings by the Riyadh-based British painter Andrew Viccari.
The paintings disappeared from Viccari’s Monaco studio in 1993.
“I want to know who are the two thieves, who succeeded in overcoming the most sophisticated security system at my mansion which could detect even a trespassing flea,” Viccari, the most expensive living painter in the world, told Arab News. The two pieces, with an estimated price of over $400,000, were painted in 1991 and 1993.
The painter said he valued them for their artistic worth rather than for the monetary value. They were painted when he was at an important turning point in his artistic life that also represented a new stage in his artistic vision. His lawyer traveled to Brussels to discuss the matter with the concerned authorities there and follow the case at close quarters. The lawyer refused to give more details on the case saying “it is too early to comment on the topic and for the time being I don’t have any thing to say to the media,”
In fact, the burglary took place on Sept. 27 1993 in a very clever way overcoming all the advanced burglary-proof systems at the painter’s studio on the Mediterranean island of Monaco. All these years the investigating authorities did not get any clue on the thieves, though all the servants and other people who had access to his large mansion in the city were questioned. “We are not bothered about the nationality of the thieves. What matters is the return of the valuable paintings. Also we want to know how they were stolen,” said the lawyer in his telephone conversation with Arab News. Viccari, who is rated the fifth richest Briton, is the historian of the second Gulf War with his rare paintings.
