A 49-year-old Greek mason confessed to having stolen in 2012 this painting by Pablo Picasso, entitled a "Head of a woman" of 56 by 40 cm and dating from 1939. "Today is a special day, of great joy and of joy. emotion ", rejoiced the Greek authorities, for whom this work is" of particular importance and sentimental value ".

Greece announced on Tuesday that it had recovered a cubist painting by Pablo Picasso, personally offered by the Spanish master to the Greek people and stolen nearly ten years earlier with two other works during a daring theft from the National Pinacoteca in Athens. Pablo Picasso's painting, a

 56 by 40 cm

Head of a Woman

dating from 1939, was found in rural Keratea, about 45 km southeast of Athens, authorities said at a conference Press.

Police said a 49-year-old mason was arrested and confessed to being the perpetrator of the thefts dating back to 2012. He said he concealed the works at his home before recently hiding them in the thick vegetation of a local valley .

"Today is a special day, of great joy and emotion," Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni told reporters.

"Impossible" to resell?

According to her, the canvas would have been "impossible" to resell because of the artist's handwritten inscription mentioning on the reverse: "For the Greek people homage to Picasso".

The artist had offered this work in 1949 to Greece to salute the anti-Nazi resistance of the country during the occupation of 1941-44.

"This painting is of particular importance and sentimental value for the Greek people, because it was personally dedicated by the great painter to the Greek people for their fight against fascist and Nazi forces," said the minister.

Another painting stolen at the same time, a

Mill

by Piet Mondrian dating from 1905, was also found.

Defective alarms

During the night of January 8 to 9, 2012, the two works as well as a drawing on paper by the Italian artist Guglielmo Caccia dit Il Moncalvo (1568-1625), representing the ecstasy of a saint, had been withdrawn from their executives and steals by exploiting the insufficient surveillance of the building, right in the center of Athens.

According to police sources quoted by the Greek agency ANA, the suspect explained that he observed the way in which security was ensured at the Pinacoteca of Athens, which houses the main national collection of paintings.

A seven-minute burglary

The burglary lasted just about seven minutes.

It was originally assigned to two men, but police said the mason likely had no accomplices.

According to Greek media, the police summoned him for questioning and he confessed, showing where he had hidden the works.

The man allegedly claimed to be an art lover and had no intention of selling them.

The Italian drawing, damaged during the flight, was discarded, according to Greek public television.

A report drawn up by the authorities had determined that the museum's security system, installed in 1992, had not benefited from any improvement since 2000. The Minister of the Interior at the time had referred to "non-existent" protections. Several areas of the museum were out of range of security cameras and alarm batteries, either missing or worn out, regularly caused bells to sound unwanted, according to the report.