Emily Chan
In the 1980s, Andrea was looking through an art history textbook when he noticed that another Picasso, Buste de femme Dora Maar, was very similar to the piece hanging on his family’s wall.
In the past, art historians told the family that the artwork was not authentic but offered to buy it anyway, which made them suspicious.
Eventually, the Lo Rossos registered the work with Italy’s patrimony police. Now, the painting is finally getting recognized for what it is.
Cinzia Altieri, a certified forensic graphologist at the Arcadia Foundation, recently analyzed the piece and determined that it is genuine. She valued the painting at around $6.6 million.
“After all the other examinations of the painting were done, I was given [the] job of studying the signature,” said Altieri.
“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.”
Luigi Lo Rosso died in 2021. Andrea is now 60 years old and is content that the painting may soon be recognized officially.
The family hopes that the Picasso Foundation in Paris will also confirm the painting’s authenticity. If they do, its value could go up even more. The canvas is currently stored in a vault in Milan.
