Jay Chou and Hannah Quinlivan put their love on display on Christmas Eve. The couple appeared to be in their lavish home, posing affectionately next to a Christmas tree and a painting of Santa Claus. Sharp-eyed netizens noticed that the painting is no ordinary piece, and Jay Chou even dropped a hint, writing: “Picasso painted Santa Claus, colorful flowers make the blessings spread across the world.” According to reports, this very painting is Picasso’s ‘Père Noël’, which he painted on Christmas Eve in 1959. It was sold at auction at the end of 2018 for $137,500 USD (about RM617,800).
Jay Chou is an avid fan of Picasso’s work. Previously, when Korean star G-Dragon (Kwon Ji-yong) visited Jay Chou’s home as a guest, the two posed for a toast, and people spotted that the painting behind them appeared to be Picasso’s ‘Musketeer with Sword’. Auction records show it sold for over NT$100 million (at least RM14.32 million), showcasing Jay Chou’s wealth and refined taste in art.
Starting in 1967, Picasso created his ‘Musketeer’ series in both oil painting and sketches, producing a total of 450 pieces of varying sizes in his later years. Auction prices range from about $8 million USD (about RM35.95 million) at the low end, all the way up to $20 million USD (about RM89.88 million). Four years ago, Jay Chou collaborated with Sotheby’s as a curator, and was also photographed with two other works from the Musketeer series.
In 2024, Jay Chou also showed off Picasso’s ‘The Painter’ on Instagram. Because the timing coincided with Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction, where it sold for NT$333 million (about RM47.64 million), netizens are speculating whether Jay Chou is the collector of ‘The Painter’, and just how many paintings by Picasso he actually owns.