Yet it was included when the exhibition transferred to the Prado in Madrid later that year.

ECONOMIST: Portrait of a lady and her daughter

Between trips to London and his foundry in Germany, he is building a piece for Norman Foster's garden near Geneva and discussing the possibility of building something for the courtyard of the Prado in Madrid.

ECONOMIST: Contemporary sculpture: Serra firma | The

Fernando Checa, a leading art historian and director of the Prado Museum in Madrid, recently published a study on Philip II as a Renaissance prince.

ECONOMIST: Spanish empire: Good King Philip? | The

Curators at the Prado museum in Madrid claim the painting of St John the Baptist, found in a Spanish church, was painted by the Italian master.

BBC: New Titian goes on show in Spain

Back in his London studio, he persuaded a friend to place a blindfold over his eyes, escort him by taxi to Heathrow, catch a flight to Madrid, lead him into the Prado museum, and position him in directly in front of Velazquez's Las Meninas.

BBC: Too famous to see?