Sgarbi, the “miraculous” discovery of the stolen work. The mystery of authenticity and retouching
A story that still concerns Vittorio Sgarbi has become relevant again. It is a stolen painting in 2013 and mysteriously reappeared, but the work has undergone changesit’s as if it had been retouched. A precious canvas by Undersecretary Sgarbi was stolen. Two years ago – we read in Il Fatto Quotidiano – Vittorio Sgarbi inaugurated a Lucca the exhibition “The painters of light”. The highlight was an “unpublished” song by Rutilio Manetti, a Caravaggio painting from the 17th century which is worth several hundred thousand euros. However, Il Fatto discovers that it is not so new: that Capture of Saint Peter in fact it is found among the photos in the Interpol database and it turns out to be stolen. Until 2013 it was located in a castle in Buriasco, not far from Pinerolo, owned by an elderly lady, Margherita Buzio. Sgarbi has been there several times. Paolo Bocedi is very loyal to him offers to buy it: the lady refuses.
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A few weeks later, – continues Il Fatto – he discovers that gods thieves have broken into the castle and they cut out and removed the canvas of the Manetti. Instead, he finds a photo of the work taped up with a stapler. The victim reports the theft, also raises suspicions, but the file was immediately archived. Ten years pass, and the canvas reappears restored in Luccabut with a different detail: a torch on the seabed which is not there in the Anti-Crime photo. Sgarbi’s restorerhowever, it is certain: “That’s the picturea friend of Vittorio brought it to me together with a transporter, rolled up like a carpet”. The undersecretary denies it: “No, it’s something else”.
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