The Picasso administration did not respond to any of his requests to have his work authenticated.
A Picasso in Béthune? For fifteen years, a retiree has been convinced that he owns a real work by the Spanish painter, reports the Voice of the North. This is a frame containing an unsigned portrait of the famous composer Igor Stravinsky, and next to it, a newspaper clipping reproducing Portrait of Stravinsky pair Picasso.
“I had a great-uncle in Roubaix who did all the auctions and piled up his works of art in an abandoned factory. When he died in 1999, I inherited part of his collection,” says -he.
No authentication
His requests to have it authenticated with the Picasso administration remain unanswered. However, dozens of experts have analyzed the drawing well. “The stylistic study explains that this drawing corresponds in every way to those of Picasso between 1937 and the beginning of the 1940s. They are made of hatching in an often primitive style with the use of the bull”, explains the Béthunois to La Voix from the North.
However, without authentication from the administration, the work cannot be recognized. And its sale, at its fair value, just like its exhibition, is therefore impossible. Another argument which, according to him, proves the authenticity of the work: the Picasso administration is accustomed to legal action against any abusive use of the painter's name or work: “Surprisingly, I received nothing.”
The Béthunois found an explanation for this radio silence. “Picasso painted one to three works a day from the age of 8 until his death at the age of 91. An envelope with his name and a daisy is worth 10,000 euros.”
And added: “If they accepted everything they owed, the market would be flooded. And since what is rare is expensive, that would risk lowering prices.”
To stay motivated, he now shares his work online, and has even interacted with people in the same situation as him. And if he no longer expects money for this work, the retiree would still like to see his work through to the end.
