Picasso Original Found in Basement of Italian Villa Painting

Photo Credit (Pixabay)

The Spanish artist has finally acknowledged a painting that was discovered in a basement and signed “Picasso,” but was disregarded, put in an inexpensive frame, and hung in the family home before being shown in a restaurant.

Its estimated value is currently $6 million, but it may be worth twice or three times that much if it receives recognition from the Pablo Picasso Foundation in Paris.

The painting is thought to depict an asymmetrical portrait of Picasso’s lover, Dora Maar, during his time spent on the Italian island of Capri. It was discovered in the basement of an abandoned villa in the 1950s by Luigi Lo Rosso, a local pawnbroker who used to search for treasure in dumps and abandoned houses.

CNN carried the story domestically. Lo Rosso thought it was real, but his wife wasn’t as convinced. To her dismay, Luigi put it in a frame and gave it to her as a gift.

When the younger Lo Rosso discovered Picasso’s painting of Dora Maar in a college art history textbook, he discovered the artist was in Capri at the time the painting was created. He informed his mother they might have something special when they got home.

After decades, Andrea received more attention than the specialists she had first hired as she had followed the correct procedures, which included reporting it to the patrimony police and treating it like a stolen item.

The Picasso signature in the corner was verified to be 100% genuine after several months of work by Cinzia Altieri, a graphologist for a Milan patrimony court. The piece was kept locked in a police vault in Milan until 2019.

Andrea has not stopped at Altieri’s analysis or at the word of Luca Gentile Canal Marcante, an art historian and honorary president of the non-profit Arcadia Foundation, located in Switzerland, which also maintains that the work is unquestionably legitimate.

Andrea is attempting to get the Picasso Foundation’s approval in Paris, something his father had always hoped would happen.

Picasso Paintings Disappearing All Around: Picasso Paintings Found in a Maine Closet After 50 Years

Andrea Lo Rosso remarked, “I’m happy, but let’s wait to toast—there’s still one step to take before we consider this incredible story over.”

“I will keep working as I always do in the hopes that they will be persuaded of the painting’s authenticity even in Paris.”