Picasso's 'ugly' painting discovered in Capri basement worth millions
2:22 PM EDT, October 2, 2024
The painting hanging in the living room had been the subject of years of controversy in the Lo Rosso family. It turned out to be signed by Pablo Picasso.
In 1962, Luigi Lo Rosso was searching the basement of a house on the Italian island of Capri. He often checked such abandoned places and sold what he found there for a small price. This time, he came across a rolled-up painting, which he took home to Pompeii, framed in a cheap frame, and hung on the living room wall. He irritated his wife by doing so, as she considered the work particularly ugly.
A living room decoration by Picasso
The painting hung in the same place for many years until the Lo Rosso's son, Andrea, received an art encyclopedia from his aunt. As he browsed through the volume, he noticed that the controversial living room decoration resembled paintings by Pablo Picasso. Even the signature matched. The family contacted experts. After months of research, graphologist Dr. Cinzia Altieri, a member of the Scientific Committee of the Arcadia Foundation, confirmed that the signature indeed belongs to Pablo Picasso.
Dr. Altieri stated that there are no doubts about the originality of the signature of the iconic Spanish painter, making the painting a work by Picasso. The piece, likely painted from 1930-1936, was valued at about 5 million pounds (18 million USD). Luigi Lo Rosso died before the painting was authenticated, but his son continued the mission.
The painting awaits recognition by the Picasso Foundation in Malaga
Sixty-year-old Andrea Lo Rosso revealed that his father didn't even know who Picasso was until the art encyclopedia came into the house. He recalled the family's history with the painting: "I kept telling my father that it looked similar, but he didn't see it. As I grew up, I kept thinking about it. My mother didn't want to keep it, she kept saying it was ugly."
The painting is currently kept in a vault in Milan, while the Lo Rosso family is in contact with the Picasso Foundation in Malaga, Spain, which will have the final say regarding its authenticity. The piece most probably depicts the French photographer and painter, Dora Maar, who was Picasso's lover until 1945.
