VOA文化艺术2024--Italian Family Aims to Prove Its Painting Is a Picasso

A 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.

The family has been gathering¹ scientific evidence to support the claim. It wants officials of the Picasso estate to confirm Picasso as the painting's creator.

A man found the painting in a load of waste he took possession of as a junk dealer² 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.

Then the man's son, Andrea Lo Russo, began to investigate the painting that, he said, his mother described as "ugly."

He 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.

"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.

Lo 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.

That investigation³ ended after he produced paperwork confirming his effort to identify the family's painting.

After 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.

Luca 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.

Most recently, a handwriting expert confirmed that the name written in the upper left corner of the painting is Picasso's handwriting, Marcante said.

For the art world, however, only one group can authenticate⁴ the painting as Picasso's work: the Picasso Administration in Paris. But, it has not answered a series of requests over the years.

Marcante 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 inquiries⁵ every day from private people believing they have found a Picasso."

The Picasso Administration chose not to speak to the Associated Press about the painting.

Tete du femme

Marcante 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 overseen⁶ by Sam Houston State University in Texas.

Adding 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.

But 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."

The 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.

Marcante 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..."

Lo Russo said that his family has not decided⁷ 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.

"We are confused ourselves," he said.

Words in This Story

estate -n. property left by its owner after the owner dies, which is administered⁸ by people who are appointed by the owner to do so into the future

ugly -adj. offensive⁹ to the sight

origin -n. where something came from

authenticate -v. to go through a process to show that something is real or true legally or without a doubt

confused -adj. being perplexed or disconcerted

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 authenticate   

vt.证明…为真，鉴定

参考例句：

• We would have to authenticate your relationship with the boy.我们必须证实一下您和那个孩子的关系。
• An expert was needed to authenticate the original Van Gogh painting from his imitation.这幅画是凡·高的真迹还是赝品,需由专家来鉴定。

5 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 administered   

管理( administer的过去式和过去分词 )； 治理（国家）； 给予； 执行

参考例句：

• An oath was administered to the newly elected President. 新当选的总统执行了宣誓手续。
• In summary, all government departments are administered rather differently. 概括地说，各政府部门的管理方式是很不相同的。

9 offensive   

adj.令人不快的，侮辱的，攻击用的；n.进攻

参考例句：

• His mode of doing business is offensive to me.他干事情的方式叫我很不喜欢。
• If all else fails,I will take the offensive.如果其他方法不行，我将采取攻势。