Antique dealer discovers authentic Picasso in his cellar
An Italian antique dealer stumbled upon an authentic painting by Pablo Picasso while cleaning out his cellar.
Luigi Lo Rosso discovered the artwork in 1962 at his home in Capri, then took it to Pompeii, where he hung it in his dining room for decades, unaware that he owned a masterpiece of immense value.
The painting is a portrait of a woman believed to be Dora Maar, a French photographer and painter who was Picasso’s muse and lover. In the top left corner of the frame features Pablo Picasso’s iconic signature.
It wasn't until his son, Andrea Lo Rosso, started asking questions and conducting research that doubts arose. After consulting with art experts, they discovered that the painting was indeed genuine and worth 6 million euros.
"After all the other examinations of the painting were done, I was given job of studying the signature. I worked on it for months, comparing it with some of his original works. There is no doubt that the signature is his. There was no evidence suggesting that it was false," explained Cinzia Altieri, a graphologist and member of the scientific committee of the Arcadia Foundation, to The Guardian.
Andrea Lo Rosso, whose father has since passed away, added that his mother found the painting "horrible" and didn’t want to keep it.
(QG - Source : The Guardian / Picture: © Pixabay)