Seven people have been detained in connection with the theft of five paintings by the Irish-born painter. The stolen artworks are estimated to be worth more than 25 million euros ($27.8 million).
Image: Imago
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Police confirmed the arrests in a statement on Saturday, but did not say where or when they were arrested, or disclose the identities of those held. The arrests are connected to the theft of five paintings last July at an undisclosed address in Spain.
The owner of the artworks, reported to be a close friend of the late artist, reported the theft of the paintings and other valuables after returning from a visit to London, the statement said.
None of the paintings had been recovered and the investigation was continuing, police added.
Art specialists alerted police
In February, a British art firm contacted investigators after receiving a request to verify the authenticity of some art.
The person who contacted the firm lived in the northern Spanish city of Sitges, police said. They had included photographs of canvases purporting to be by Bacon. The person asked the experts if the works were listed as stolen.
Investigators then analyzed the photo and were able to determine that the camera that took the images was owned by a camera rental firm which supplied details of the customer who had rented it at the time the paintings were photographed.
'Highly professional' theft
The customer, who is suspected of involvement in the crime, was among those arrested, along with a Madrid art dealer and his son.
The other suspects also received the photographs and were arrested on suspicion of being accomplices and of conspiring to conceal the facts, police said.
Sources close to the investigation said in March that the theft appeared to have been a highly-professional operation which took place while the owner was away in London, with the perpetrators disabling the alarm system.
Irish-born Bacon died in Madrid in 1992, aged 82 and his expressionist-surrealist works, which are often raw and emotional, remain hugely sought after.
In 2013, his 1969 work "Three Studies of Lucien Freud" fetched 128 million euros ($142 million) at auction, a world record at the time.
The 10 most expensive artworks of 2014
It was a year of records for the big auction houses of the world, with millions flushed into their coffers. Art clearly remains a sound investment in uncertain economic times.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
"Chariot" by Alberto Giacometti: $102.9 million
This bronze sculpture by the Swiss artist (sold by Sotheby's) became the most expensive artwork of the year. "Chariot" shows the figurine of a goddess standing tall upon the axel of two wheels. Giacometti made several of these warrior chariots but according to Sotheby's, only two remain in private hands. This particular "Chariot" was in a private collection for four decades.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/Sotheby's
"Black Fire I" by Barnett Newman: $84.2 million
Barnett Newman, one of the fathers of abstract expressionism, destroyed all of his works at age 40. Then over the next two and a half decades he created a further 120 images dedicated to what he considered the five essential subjects: life, death, mankind, nature and tragedy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Two Andy Warhols: "Triple Elvis" ($81.9 million) and "Four Marlons" ($69.9 million)
The auctioning of two Warhol images from the collection of a state-owned casino created a stir in Germany - where the sale of public art is considered taboo. The North Rhine Westphalia Casino Group plans to use the funds from the sale to clear debts, renovate and build a new casino in Cologne.
Image: Reuters/Brendan McDermid
"Three Studies for a Portrait of John Edwards" by Francis Bacon: $80.8 million
John Edwards, a bartender from Soho, was assumed to be the last love of the great Francis Bacon. This image was created in 1984 when the painter was 75. Bacon is one of the most sought-after artists in the world. His triptych "Three Studies for a Portrait of Lucien Freud" leads the list of the most expensive paintings of all time, selling for $142.4 million in 2013.
Image: picture alliance/empics
"Tete" by Amedeo Modigliani: $70.7 million
The Italian painter and sculptor called his heads "pillars of tenderness." Modigliani created only a few of these pillars between 1909 and 1913 - under the influence of his teacher, Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi.
Image: Getty Images/C. Court
"Portrait of George Dyer Talking" by Francis Bacon: $70.2 million
"When an artist has become a brand, prices climb into regions they have never been before," says Hans Neuendorf, founder of Artnet, an online art service provider. Even dealers frequently find current price hikes shocking but continue to make money nonetheless.
Image: Reuters
"Untitled" by Cy Twombly: $69.6 million
Twombly's painting style is sometimes compared with doodling - or with the visual language of graffiti art, of which he is considered a predecessor. The prices for Twombly's works increased dramatically after his death in 2011.
Image: Christie*s
"Untitled" by Mark Rothko: $66.2 million
Mark Rothko - originally Marcus Rothkowitz - was born in 1903, the fourth child of a Jewish family from the Russian city of Dvinsk (present-day Daugavpils, Latvia). The family emigrated to the US after escaping anti-Semitic pogroms in Europe. The artist suffered from severe depression throughout his life. His maxim for art: "images need to be mysterious."
Image: DW/Rainer Traube
"Le Printemps" by Edouard Manet: $65.1 million
Edouard Manet is the only 19th century artist in the "club" of the most expensive artists of 2014. Dating from 1881, this oil painting depicts a then-famous actress - a young, serious looking woman in Sunday attire amidst a sea of flowers. With this sale, the former highest price for a work of Manet almost doubled.
