Italian Family Aims to Prove Its Painting Is a Picasso
2024-10-14
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A family in Italy hopes to prove that a painting found long ago on the island of Capri is the work of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso.
2The family has been gathering scientific evidence to support the claim.
3It wants officials of the Picasso estate to confirm Picasso as the painting's creator.
4A man found the painting in a load of waste he took possession of as a junk dealer more than 60 years ago.
5He hung the picture in his home for a long time.
6Later, it hung in a restaurant in Pompei, Italy.
7Then the man's son, Andrea Lo Russo, began to investigate the painting that, he said, his mother described as "ugly."
8He said he first came to think the painting was important after seeing a picture of a Picasso painting in a schoolbook.
9Later, as a young adult, Lo Russo and his brother took the painting to Paris.
10They showed it to experts at the Picasso Museum there.
11"They looked, and they said, 'it is not possible,'" Lo Russo remembered.
12The brothers refused the museum's offer to keep the painting for further study, he said.
13Lo Russo said that his research into the painting's origin sometimes connected him with dishonest people.
14He said some people tricked him for money. One situation led officials to investigate him as a possible trafficker of false artwork.
15That investigation ended after he produced paperwork confirming his effort to identify the family's painting.
16After more than 20 years of trying, Lo Russo believes that recent tests carried out by the Swiss-based Arcadia Foundation prove that his painting is from Picasso.
17Luca Marcante is a trained chemist who started the Arcadia Foundation in 2000 to investigate artwork.
18Marcante said laboratory tests show the paints used were like those Picasso used in one period of his career.
19Most recently, a handwriting expert confirmed that the name written in the upper left corner of the painting is Picasso's handwriting, Marcante said.
20For the art world, however, only one group can authenticate the painting as Picasso's work: the Picasso Administration in Paris.
21But, it has not answered a series of requests over the years.
22Marcante said that he is preparing to share the most recent findings with them.
23He explains it this way: "You need to understand, they get dozens of inquiries every day from private people believing they have found a Picasso."
24The Picasso Administration chose not to speak to the Associated Press about the painting.
25Marcante said the painting is similar to Tete du femme, a 1949 painting that is believed to be a Picasso.
26It is part of a digital collection overseen by Sam Houston State University in Texas.
27Adding to the mystery, Marcante said there is photographic evidence that Picasso visited the ruins of Pompeii in 1917.
28Marcante also said it is likely the artist visited Capri in the 1940s.
29But expert Enrique Mallen doubts the painting is really Picasso's work.
30He said, "From what I know of studying Picasso for 30 years, he would never do an identical copy of his own work."
31The only record of Tete du femme is documentation from a 1967 book, which said the painting was in a private collection in Turin, Italy.
32Mallen said there is no other evidence of the painting.
33Marcante called Tete du femme "a ghost painting, because no one has ever seen it."
34He added, "The only real one is ours, that we have examined in a scientific manner..."
35Lo Russo said that his family has not decided what to do with the painting if it is confirmed as a Picasso.
36Many people are asking about it now since news about the painting spread in recent weeks.
37"We are confused ourselves," he said.
38I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1A family in Italy hopes to prove that a painting found long ago on the island of Capri is the work of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. 2The family has been gathering scientific evidence to support the claim. It wants officials of the Picasso estate to confirm Picasso as the painting's creator. 3A man found the painting in a load of waste he took possession of as a junk dealer more than 60 years ago. He hung the picture in his home for a long time. Later, it hung in a restaurant in Pompei, Italy. 4Then the man's son, Andrea Lo Russo, began to investigate the painting that, he said, his mother described as "ugly." 5He said he first came to think the painting was important after seeing a picture of a Picasso painting in a schoolbook. Later, as a young adult, Lo Russo and his brother took the painting to Paris. They showed it to experts at the Picasso Museum there. 6"They looked, and they said, 'it is not possible,'" Lo Russo remembered. The brothers refused the museum's offer to keep the painting for further study, he said. 7Lo Russo said that his research into the painting's origin sometimes connected him with dishonest people. He said some people tricked him for money. One situation led officials to investigate him as a possible trafficker of false artwork. 8That investigation ended after he produced paperwork confirming his effort to identify the family's painting. 9After more than 20 years of trying, Lo Russo believes that recent tests carried out by the Swiss-based Arcadia Foundation prove that his painting is from Picasso. 10Luca Marcante is a trained chemist who started the Arcadia Foundation in 2000 to investigate artwork. Marcante said laboratory tests show the paints used were like those Picasso used in one period of his career. 11Most recently, a handwriting expert confirmed that the name written in the upper left corner of the painting is Picasso's handwriting, Marcante said. 12For the art world, however, only one group can authenticate the painting as Picasso's work: the Picasso Administration in Paris. But, it has not answered a series of requests over the years. 13Marcante said that he is preparing to share the most recent findings with them. He explains it this way: "You need to understand, they get dozens of inquiries every day from private people believing they have found a Picasso." 14The Picasso Administration chose not to speak to the Associated Press about the painting. 15Tete du femme 16Marcante said the painting is similar to Tete du femme, a 1949 painting that is believed to be a Picasso. It is part of a digital collection overseen by Sam Houston State University in Texas. 17Adding to the mystery, Marcante said there is photographic evidence that Picasso visited the ruins of Pompeii in 1917. Marcante also said it is likely the artist visited Capri in the 1940s. 18But expert Enrique Mallen doubts the painting is really Picasso's work. He said, "From what I know of studying Picasso for 30 years, he would never do an identical copy of his own work." 19The only record of Tete du femme is documentation from a 1967 book, which said the painting was in a private collection in Turin, Italy. Mallen said there is no other evidence of the painting. 20Marcante called Tete du femme "a ghost painting, because no one has ever seen it." He added, "The only real one is ours, that we have examined in a scientific manner..." 21Lo Russo said that his family has not decided what to do with the painting if it is confirmed as a Picasso. Many people are asking about it now since news about the painting spread in recent weeks. 22"We are confused ourselves," he said. 23I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 24Colleen Barry reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. 25_______________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27estate -n. property left by its owner after the owner dies, which is administered by people who are appointed by the owner to do so into the future 28ugly -adj. offensive to the sight 29origin -n. where something came from 30authenticate -v. to go through a process to show that something is real or true legally or without a doubt 31confused -adj. being perplexed or disconcerted 32We want to hear from you. 33Our comment policy is here.