A man was detained by the National Police on suspicions of transporting a painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, even though the export permit had expired, with Milan as the intended destination. The interception happened at the Modane border crossing in France, where the artwork was found inside the vehicle. The seized document valued the painting at 1,300,000 euros.
French border officers confiscated the artwork in July 2022. The accompanying paperwork claimed the work was by Leonardo da Vinci and carried the title “Portrait Giacomo Trivulzio,” with an assessed value of 1,300,000 euros.
National Police investigators suspected fraud and, to verify the claim, consulted the Ministry of Culture. They learned that the export permit was genuine but had lapsed several months earlier, rendering the shipment illegal. Consequently, the man transporting the painting was located and arrested in Madrid as a suspected contraband offender.
Officers from the Historical Heritage Brigade transported the painting into Spain from the Le Perthus border crossing in France. A technical analysis conducted at the Prado National Museum indicated that the piece was an imitation of the Milanese portrait models from the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The study suggested the forgery was produced with fraudulent intent, most likely in the early 20th century.
As a result, the artwork’s economic value was estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 euros, effectively ruling out any authorship by Leonardo or by Italian artists of his era.