Seville, (EFE).- The Seville Culture Fund Foundation (FOCUS) has presented the only offer to acquire the work ‘San Pedro penitente de los Venerables’, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, a painting that has gone up for auction due to the liquidation of the assets of Abengoa, and that, precisely, is guarded by this foundation in the museum of the Hospital de los Venerables in Seville.
According to what judicial sources have informed EFE, the offer of FOCUS, of 2.5 million euros, is the only one that is presented to the contest, whose deadline for receiving applications to keep the work ended at 2:00 p.m. Friday.
FOCUS’s offer for Murillo’s work will be studied with the expectation of making a decision on it this week.
The painting has been put up for auction with the premise that it has been declared an asset of cultural interest (BIC), so it cannot leave Spanish territory, and that whoever wants to buy it has to certify payment of 75% of the appraisal value of the painting. the work, which amounts to eight million euros.
Commissioned by Canon Justin de Neve in 1675
Once the offer is studied, if it is not accepted, a second phase consisting of a traditional auction carried out by a specialized company will be opened. In addition, applications are already being received to apply for this job.
The work represents the apostle Saint Peter as the first priest of the church, right in the temple of the Hospital de los Venerables, dedicated to the care of the elderly priests, “the venerable almost saints”, as explained when asked for the name of this building located in the heart of the Seville neighborhood of Santa Cruz.
Painted around 1675 commissioned by Canon Justino de Neve, this oil on canvas remained in Seville until 1810. It was then looted during the Napoleonic invasion, although it returned to Spain in 2014 almost by chance, since it is located in a Scottish castle owned by From an Iranian family.
The looters also took only the canvas and left the original frame abandoned, which today is exhibited in the hospital church as a work of art in itself, while the painting retains the frame it had when it was found in Scotland. , although restored, just like the work of Murillo. EFE