Picasso Masterpieces Stolen from Paris Apartment

With heist capers like Oceans 13 due out for this summer's release, the world pretty much takes an enormous gasp whenever there is something remotely of the real thing to report. Stranger than fiction has found it's way into the Parisian apartment where the calculated and planned robbery took place. The burglars made off with more than one stolen Picasso painting.

It was confirmed that the apartment of Picasso 's Granddaughter is where the theft occurred. The burglars were said to be so very quiet during their heist that Diana Widmaier-Picasso and her houseguest did not hear a thing the entire duration of the theft. The thieves managed to steal one painting of Pablo Picasso's daughter Maya, the other of his second wife, Jacqueline.

The paintings were estimated to be valued together at $77.4 million. Art experts suggest the burglars are to be in for a shocker when they go to sell the stolen Picasso painting. Jonathan Sazonoff, of a leading website on stolen arts said of the theft, "Very hard to fence because it's so well-known - stealing a Picasso is like stealing a sign that says, `I'm a thief."

The burglars are definitely going to find their criminal endeavors at a loss, as there are already as many as 549 other missing or stolen works by the creative Spanish painter. Picasso who is also known for his sculptors, graphics, and ceramics is one of the most celebrated artists of 20th century. Picasso is believed to have produced more than 20,000 works during his successful career.

Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born October 25, 1881. After living what was a very full and long life he died on April 8, 1973. His full name is Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Crispín Crispiniano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso. One of the Spanish painter and sculptor's most recently stolen painting was of special importance to granddaughter Widmaier-Picasso as the painting was of her mother, Maya, as a young girl in pigtails.

A similar portrait of this painting hangs in the Picasso Museum in Paris. Maya was the daughter of Picasso and Marie-Therese Walter resulting from their brief affair. Katie Dugdale, of the Art Loss Register and the world's largest database on stolen, missing and looted art, said that she believed the thieves could sell the stolen painting, but also agreed that it would be very difficult for them at the same time.

She said of their odds, "Even though they can't get full value, there's still some value unfortunately," if the stolen artworks were to be used to fund other illegal activities such as arms trading. The Parisian authorities are hoping the highly profiled media attention will bring about a recovery of the stolen art worker long before the culprits have a chance to secure a buyer of any sort.