By Meredith Rutland, McClatchy Newspapers –
MIAMI — When brazen thieves stole Henri Matisse’s “Odalisque in Red Pants,” replacing the 1925 masterpiece with a forgery, they left a Venezuelan museum with a major mystery.
On Tuesday, nearly a decade after the work disappeared, FBI agents recovered it and arrested two people at the Miami Beach Loews Hotel when they tried to sell the $3 million piece to undercover agents.
Pedro Antonio Marcuello Guzman, 46, of Miami, and Maria Martha Elisa Ornelas Lazo, 50, of Mexico City are now accused of possessing and transporting the stolen art and trying to sell it for $740,000.
The two made their first court appearance Wednesday and a detention hearing is set for Friday. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 10 years.
The Caracas Contemporary Art Museum purchased the Matisse painting of a bare-chested woman lounging in red pants in 1981 for more than $400,000.
Matisse is known for his vibrant use of color. Odalisques — oriental-themed paintings of partially clothed women reclining, standing or sitting, usually on beds — were a popular theme for the French artist in the 1920s.
In 1997, the piece was loaned to a Spanish exhibition, according to The Associated Press. After then, it remained in Caracas until it was stolen.
In 2002, museum staff realized the multimillion-dollar piece was a fake. Law enforcement agents around the globe have been searching for it since.
At the time, Caracas museum leaders held a news conference. Museum director Rita Salvestrini said she suspected an inside job.
“You can’t just make the switch freely inside the museum,” she said. “There had to be inside complicity.”
The forgery left hanging in the gallery had extra shadows and a missing green stripe.
The theft, coupled with public vandalism of prized Venezuelan art and the government replacing longtime art directors with politicians’ friends, sparked an uproar in the artistic community against President Hugo Chavez. Art lovers accused him of neglecting the country’s artistic patrimony, according to Rutgers assistant professor Tatiana Flores.
“The theft of the Matisse was one of many events that made people feel outraged at the state of art under Chavez,” she said. “The impact was really quite stunning.”
The artistic landscape started to shift as art lovers boycotted museums led by Chavez’s sympathizers in favor of newly created galleries, some of which are still popular today, Flores said.
The multimillion-dollar piece was thought to have been taken by a Venezuelan woman who lived in Miami Beach, according to an AP report after the theft. She is thought to have taken the piece to Fortress Art Storage in Miami, then smuggled it to Spain.
The woman was not named.
In the Wednesday announcement by U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer, officials said Ornelas flew into Miami International Airport from Mexico City on Monday carrying a red tube with the painting rolled inside.
The two later met up with buyers — actually undercover agents — at the Loews, according to WPLG-Channel 10. After the sale was arranged, agents arrested the duo, according to the FBI.
Loews Hotel spokeswoman Sarah Murov said the hotel was “not involved” in the case but is cooperating with the investigation.