Picasso and Mondrian work stolen from Greek National Gallery

According to the Greek police, well-organized criminals robbed the largest art museum in Greece - the Greek National Gallery. Early on Monday morning, January 9th, paintings were stolen, including paintings by Pablo Picasso and Pete Mondrian.

“The Head of a Woman” by Pablo Picasso (1939). Photo taken January 4, 2012 EPA / CHRISTINA ZACHOPOULOU.

The crime occurred in one of the most well-protected areas of the Greek capital. Burglars entered through the balcony door in the predawn hours. It is reported that the work of the Italian artist Guglielmo Gaccia, a drawing of a 16th century pen and ink on a religious theme, was also lost.

Museum officials have not yet named the estimated value of the stolen paintings.

According to the police, the robbery took about seven minutes. A little earlier, the criminals several times triggered an alarm without penetrating the building, which forced the guards to disable at least one of the alarm sensors. The robbers were spotted by another sensor located inside the building, on the territory of the museum’s exposition, but the guards managed to see only a person running away from there.

Greek police investigator investigates thieves entering Greek National Gallery on January 9, 2012. EPA / ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU.

Among the stolen works was a painting by Pablo Picasso. Written in the style of "cubism" a female bust, the Spanish artist donated to Greece in 1949 with the dedication "in honor of the Greek people" for their resistance to the Nazi occupiers during World War II. The Windmill on the River Bank, written in 1905 by Mondrian, stood out among his later abstract works. All three canvases, including Gaccia’s St. Diego de Alcalá, were carved from frames.

The Greek National Gallery, whose exposition consists mainly of 19th-20th century Greek painting, has just closed the exhibition of its Western European collections, including engravings and etchings by German master Albrecht Dürer and paintings and drawings by Rembrandt van Rijn. On Monday, the gallery closed for a while to change the exposure.