A gift received by Niculae Ceaușescu in the context of bilateral relations from the ’70s – ’80s, is in the center of attention at an auction in Bucharest. It is an engraving signed by the Spanish painter Francisco Goya, which was given as a gift by the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I de Bourbon, around the 80s.
Goya’s work, entitled “Engagement – Capriciul no. 57” starts with a price of 8,000 euros in the Artmark auction, but experts estimate that it could be sold for 15,000 euros.
The engraving “Engagement – Capriciul no. 57” belongs to the series “Los Caprichos” (no: “Whims”), made by Francisco Goya. The work was confiscated in December 1989, when it was handed over to the National Art Museum of Romania.
Later, however, it was returned to the heiress Zoia Ceauşescu, having been classified in the category of “Movable National Cultural Heritage Fund”, by order of the Minister of Culture.
The engravings signed by the Spanish painter Goya have represented, since the 70s, a cultural vector of Spanish diplomacy. Today, Goya’s engravings from the “Whims” series are exhibited in all the great museums of the world, from Barcelona and Madrid, to London, Berlin and New York.
According to Antena 3 CNN, in the same auction, collectors also have access to exceptional works of Romanian art, at various prices. Among the rare paintings is a classic nude signed by Nicolae Grigorescu – titled “La izvor” and painted around the 1860s, with a starting price of 50,000 euros, but also a painting by Nicolae Vermont – “Young Enescu in recital” (1927), with a starting price of only 5,000 euros.
