Picasso's lost masterpiece discovered in Italian basement
The painting hanging in the living room was the subject of many years of controversy in the Lo Rosso family. It turned out to be signed by Pablo Picasso.
2 October 2024 15:02
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 in them for a pittance. This time, he came across a rolled-up painting, which he took with him to his home in Pompeii, framed in a cheap frame, and hung on the living room wall. This caused irritation to his wife, who considered the work to be exceptionally ugly.
Living room decoration by Picasso's brush
The painting hung in the same place for many years until the Lo Rosso's son, Andrea, received an art encyclopedia from his aunt. While browsing the volume, he noticed that the living room decoration, which had caused family controversy, was similar to Pablo Picasso's paintings. 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 ruled that there is no doubt about the originality of the signature of the iconic Spanish painter, so the painting is a work of Picasso. The work, which was probably painted in the years 1930-1936, was valued at around 6.7 million Canadian dollars (15 million PLN). Luigi Lo Rosso passed away 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 arrived at their home. He recounted 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 pondering it. My mother didn't want to keep it, she kept saying it was ugly."
The painting is currently stored 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 on its authenticity. The work most likely depicts the French photographer and painter, Dora Maar, who was Picasso's lover until 1945.
