An "ugly" painting turned out to be an original by Pablo Picasso (5 photos)

An old painting that its owner called "ugly" turned out to be a Picasso worth 6 million euros.





In 1962, Capri resident Luigi Lo Rosso was cleaning the basement of his house and discovered the painting. In the upper left corner, the characteristic signature of the Spanish artist was visible, but the man could not decipher it.

Later, the Italian moved to a new house in Pompeii, and hung the painting in the living room.



Luigi Lo Rosso's wife and Picasso's painting

Many years later, his son Andrea, while studying the history of art, noticed the signature of the famous artist. The family turned to experts, including the famous art detective Maurizio Seracini.

After several months of investigation, graphologist Cinzia Altieri, a member of the scientific committee of the Arcadia Foundation, confirmed that the signature belonged to Pablo Picasso.

Portrait of Dora Maar

The painting, believed to have been painted between 1930 and 1936, is valued at €6 million.

The portrait is believed to be of Dora Maar, a French photographer and artist who was Picasso's lover until 1945. Apparently, the artist greatly distorted her facial features.



Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

Luigi died without ever seeing the painting authenticated.

Andrea, 60, said: "My father was from Capri and collected all sorts of junk to sell for next to nothing. He found the painting before I was born and had no idea who Picasso was. He had little interest in art. Reading about Picasso's work, I looked at the painting and compared the signatures. I kept telling my father they were similar, but he just brushed it off. And my mother wanted to throw the portrait away, she called it ugly."



Graphologist Cinzia Altieri

The painting is currently in storage in Milan. The family has contacted the Picasso Foundation in Malaga, Spain, to obtain final confirmation of the work's authenticity.

By the time of his death in 1973, Picasso had created over 14,000 works.