A junk dealer's discovery in a Capri cellar turns out to be an original Picasso portrait. According to one Guardian According to the report, Luigi Lo Rosso found the painting in 1962, took it to Pompeii and hung it in his living room, despite his wife's disgust. The painting remained a mystery for decades, until Lo Rosso's son Andrea started looking into art history and noticed the distinctive signature in the upper left corner. The family then sought the advice of a team of experts, including a well-known art detective, Maurizio Seracini. Cinzia Altieri, a graphologist and member of the Arcadia Foundation's scientific committee, confirmed that the distorted style of the painting is classic Picasso. The artwork is now valued at 5 million pounds (Rs 55,71,18,527).
''After all other examinations of the painting were done, I was given the task of studying the signature. I worked on it for months and compared it to some of his original works. There is no doubt that the signature is his. There was no evidence to suggest it was false,” Altieri told the newspaper Guardian.
The portrait is believed to be of Dora Maar, a French photographer and painter who was Picasso's mistress and muse.
Lo Ross died, but his son Andrea, now 60, continued his quest to discover the artist behind the painting.
''My father came from Capri and collected junk to sell for next to nothing. He found the painting before I was even born and had no idea who Picasso was. He wasn't a very cultured person. I kept telling my dad it was the same, but he didn't understand. But as I grew up, I kept wondering,” Andrea Lo Rosso told The Guardian.
Mr Rosso also revealed that his family considered throwing away the painting due to his mother's strong dislike for it. “She found it disgusting and repeatedly urged us to get rid of it,” he added.
His quest to validate his father's discovery encountered a significant hurdle when the Picasso Foundation in Málaga repeatedly rejected his claims as false. Despite this setback, experts including graphologist Cinzia Altieri have now confirmed the painting's authenticity.
It is notable that Picasso regularly visited Capri, where the painting was discovered, and the estimated period of creation between 1930 and 1936 corresponds to his stylistic evolution. Remarkably, Picasso created more than 14,000 works during his lifetime, leaving room for unknown pieces.
The painting, now stored in a vault in Milan, awaits official recognition from the Picasso Foundation.
