Treasure found in the cellar: This Picasso has been hanging in the living room for 60 years
Milan - For decades, an inconspicuous painting hung in the living room of an Italian family. Now some art experts suspect that it is a Picasso.
More than 60 years ago, an Italian junk dealer found what at first glance appeared to be an unremarkable painting in the cellar of a villa in Capri and hung it in his living room.
Art experts give the current owners hope that the asymmetrical portrait of a woman could be a genuine Picasso.
Research by a team of experts from the Swiss-based Arcadia Foundation is said to have revealed that the Picasso signature on the painting is genuine, reported the newspaper "Il Giorno".
Flea dealer's wife described picture as "hideous"
Luigi La Rosso, a junk dealer from Pompeii, was supposed to clear out the cellar of a villa on the Mediterranean island of Capri in 1962 and came across a rolled-up canvas. He took it with him and hung it up at home. For decades, the painting gathered dust in a cheap frame.
Lo Rosso's wife even described it as hideous and wanted to get rid of it, as Lo Rosso's son Andrea told several Italian newspapers. "My parents were simple people, they knew nothing about art," "Il Giorno" quoted him as saying.
At some point, the son noticed the signature on the painting: Picasso. Together with his brother, he tried to verify the exact origin of the work and, according to his own account, went to Paris to present the painting to the Picasso Museum. However, the reaction there was cautious. Lo Rosso took it home again.
However, he persisted and commissioned experts to examine the work. Graphologist Cinzia Altieri from the Arcadia Foundation is now certain that it is a painting by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), who frequently visited Capri in the 1950s.
It is said to show the French photographer Dora Maar (1907-1997), a muse of Picasso. Luca Marcante, founder of the Arcadia Foundation, estimates the value at six million euros.
Authenticity has yet to be finally decided
However, the Picasso estate administration has the final say and has not yet commented on the matter. Marcante now wants to present the results of his team of experts to them, he told "Il Giorno".
Lo Rosso was satisfied with the results. "But let's wait and see before we consider this incredible story closed." He hopes that the estate administration will also be convinced of the painting's authenticity.