Two men were arrested in Barcelona after two sculptures were stolen from city art galleries on consecutive days, with the works later recovered from a hotel room and a garden, according to reporting by El Periódico. The Barcelona Urban Guard said the stolen pieces were one work by Eduardo Chillida and another by Coderch & Malavia, with a combined value of €235,650.

The thefts happened on Monday at Villa del Arte on Passeig de Gràcia and on Tuesday at Galeria Mayoral on Carrer Consell de Cent. For gallery staff and nearby businesses in central Barcelona, the case has prompted fresh scrutiny of how small, high-value works can be removed from exhibition spaces in busy commercial areas without immediate detection.

Two galleries were targeted on successive days

According to La Vanguardia, the first theft took place on Monday at Villa del Arte, located in the lower part of the Mandarin Oriental building on Passeig de Gràcia. The piece taken there was Coderch & Malavia's Giant of the Salt Small, measuring 32 x 22 x 19 centimetres and valued at more than €10,500.

La Vanguardia reported that one man allegedly distracted a gallery employee while the other removed the small sculpture from its pedestal. The newspaper also said the suspects managed to evade the gallery's security measures during the theft.

The second theft followed on Tuesday at Galeria Mayoral on Carrer Consell de Cent. La Vanguardia identified the stolen work as Chillida's Lurra G20, valued at more than €225,000.

  • Monday: theft at Villa del Arte on Passeig de Gràcia
  • Tuesday: theft at Galeria Mayoral on Carrer Consell de Cent
  • Estimated combined value: €235,650, according to El Periódico
  • Recovered from: a hotel room and a garden, according to El Periódico

How police traced and recovered the works

La Vanguardia said the Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's regional police, circulated descriptions of the suspects after the first theft and opened an investigation through their criminal investigation division. It reported that, after the second theft, the same police alert procedure was activated again across patrol units in Barcelona.

El Periódico reported that police intervention led to the suspects being identified and arrested, and that both sculptures were recovered shortly afterwards. The newspaper said the works had been hidden in the hotel room where the arrested men were staying and in a garden.

Police intervention led to the identification and arrest of the suspects, and the recovery of the two stolen works, which had been hidden in a garden and in the hotel room where the arrested individuals were staying.

La Vanguardia identified the arrested men as Serbian nationals, attributing that information to its own reporting. The Barcelona Urban Guard statement cited by El Periódico confirms two arrests and the recovery of the artworks, but the force's account as supplied here does not state nationality.

Security questions for galleries in central Barcelona

The case matters for gallery operators, collectors and visitors because both thefts happened in prominent central locations, one on Passeig de Gràcia and the other on Carrer Consell de Cent, and involved works small enough to be moved quickly. La Vanguardia reported that in both cases the thieves acted discreetly and were not detected at the time by cameras or private security.

Neither gallery had publicly detailed any immediate change in security arrangements in the source material provided. Even so, the back-to-back thefts are likely to sharpen attention on staffing, camera coverage and display protection for smaller sculptures in exhibition spaces where visitors can move close to the works.

The known outcome so far is that the two sculptures have been recovered and two men have been arrested in Barcelona.

Reported by Source Text Link, Toni Muñoz, Asun Chamoso, ground.news, Ben Pawlowski, bbc.com, Laurence Dollimore, lavanguardia.com, efe, villadelarte.com, galeriamayoral.com, El Periódico Barcelona.