Greek police have recovered a painting by the Spanish painter Picasso and a work by the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian that had been stolen in 2012 from the Museum of National Art Collections (Pinakotheque) in Athens, and arrested a suspect, according to the authorities.
In 1939, the Spanish painter completed the "Woman's Head" oil painting, measuring 56 centimeters by 46, and presented it ten years later to Greece in appreciation of its resistance against the Nazis.
The plaque, which reads on the back in French, "a tribute from Picasso to the Greek people", was found in the rural Kitaria region, about 45 kilometers southeast of Athens, the Greek news agency reported.
The agency also referred to the discovery of the painting "The Mill", which was completed by the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian in 1905.
In addition to these two paintings, a drawing by the Italian artist Guillemo Catcha, known as "Il Moncalvo" (1568-1625), was also stolen from the National Gallery, highlighting the gaps in the observation of the building in the heart of Athens.
The intrusion, during which two men are suspected of pulling the paintings from their frames, lasted only about seven minutes.
A report by the authorities later concluded that the Pinakotek security team in Athens had not changed since 2000. Several areas of the museum were outside the coverage of surveillance cameras and the alarms were not working properly.
