Valuable Spanish painting left on street salvaged by man who liked its frame

Andrés Hurtado displays the painting by Spanish artist Joaquín Sorolla that he found on the street. Photograph: Marcial Guillén/EPA

The mystery of a small and very valuable picture by the Spanish artist Joaquín Sorolla that vanished over the weekend has been solved after a man told police he had mistaken the painting for junk when he found it on a Seville street but rescued it because he liked the frame.

Rather than being entranced by the painting’s subject matter – two boats off a beach – Andrés Hurtado was instead captivated by its handsome gold frame.