A valuable painting by Spanish artist Joaquín Sorolla has been returned to its owners after a man found it on a street in Seville and initially mistook it for trash.
The artwork, valued at up to €150,000, was accidentally left leaning against a wall while the family packed their vehicle for a holiday last Saturday.
The family distributed posters seeking information, describing the piece as “a painting of great sentimental value.”
Andrés Hurtado, a 57-year-old resident of Murcia visiting Seville with his family, discovered the painting. He took it home solely because of its attractive gold frame.
“We picked it up because of the frame, not because of the painting,” Hurtado said.
He later used artificial intelligence tools to research the piece.
“The AI came up with some crazy prices, so I looked online and called an auction house in Madrid,” he said.
Hurtado contacted experts to confirm his suspicions about the artwork’s authenticity.
“I sent them pictures and they came back to me very quickly, saying it was an original Sorolla,” he said.
When he saw public reports about the missing item labeled as “stolen,” he immediately contacted law enforcement to clarify the misunderstanding.
“I rang the police straight away and told them the news wasn’t true,” Hurtado said.
“I told them I hadn’t stolen it but just picked it up in the street.”
The police returned the artwork to its original owners. The family explained that heavy traffic on Saturday caused them to become flustered.
“They told me there was a lot of traffic and that all the other cars were beeping at them,” Hurtado said.
“They got anxious and left the painting leaning against the wall.”
This incident follows a similar transport mishap in October last year involving a Picasso still life worth €600,000, which was recovered three weeks later after a neighbor kept it safe.
