Painting Found By Junk Dealer Turns Out To Be An Original Picasso Worth Over Rs 50 Crore

A junk dealer’s discovery in a Capri cellar has turned out to be an original Picasso portrait. According to a Guardian report, Luigi Lo Rosso found the painting in 1962, took it home to Pompeii, and hung it in his living room despite his wife’s distaste for it. For decades, the painting remained a mystery, until Lo Rosso’s son Andrea started researching art history and noticed the distinctive signature in the top 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 the painting’s distorted style as classic Picasso. The art piece is now valued at 5 million pounds (Rs 55,71,18,527).

”After all the other examinations of the painting were done, I was given the 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,” Mr Altieri told the Guardian. 

It’s believed that the portrait is of Dora Maar, a French photographer and painter who was Picasso’s mistress and muse. 

Lo Ross died, but his son Andrea, who is 60 now, pursued his quest to discover the artist behind the painting.

”My father was from Capri and would collect junk to sell for next to nothing. He found the painting before I was even born and didn’t have a clue who Picasso was. He wasn’t a very cultured person. I kept telling my father it was similar, 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 disposing of the painting due to his mother’s strong dislike. “She found it repulsive and repeatedly urged us to get rid of it,” he added. 

His quest to validate his father’s discovery faced a significant hurdle when the Picasso Foundation in Málaga repeatedly dismissed his claims as false. Despite this setback, experts, including graphologist Cinzia Altieri, have now confirmed the painting’s authenticity.

Notably, Picasso frequently visited Capri, where the painting was discovered, and the estimated creation period between 1930 and 1936 aligns with his stylistic evolution. Notably, Picasso created over 14,000 works during his lifetime, leaving room for unknown pieces to emerge.

The painting, now stored in a Milan vault, awaits official recognition from the Picasso Foundation.