Andrés Hurtado, a 57-year-old from Murcia, returned a Joaquín Sorolla painting he had accidentally picked up on a street in Seville last Saturday. The work, valued at up to 150,000 euros, was identified thanks to an AI app.
The find occurred around 16:30 on Saturday 27 June on Rafael González Abreu street in Seville. Hurtado saw a group of foreign youths leave the gold-framed painting on the pavement and decided to take it to his hotel.
Upon examining it on Monday, Hurtado used the AI on his phone and contacted an auction house in Madrid. The appraisal confirmed it was an original Sorolla work valued at 150,000 euros.
After reading the news of the owners' police report, Hurtado alerted the National Police. Officers from Seville and Murcia collected the canvas at his home in Puebla de Soto this afternoon. The frame had minor damage, but the painting was in good condition.
Hurtado, unemployed for three years, said he had fulfilled his obligation and did not rule out a possible reward under the Civil Code.
