You Wouldn’t Find This On eBay
AFP reports: “A Swiss antiques dealer believes he has found an unsigned work of master impressionist Edouard Manet, but has run into a brick wall in the labyrinthine corridors of the art world in his bid to get the painting recognised.”
Jules Petroz and his wife Aicha made the discovery at Geneva’s Plainpalais flea market in 1997. “I’d seen this ordinary pastel-on-paper sitting on the ground for some time. No one wanted it,” he said.
“But this time I noticed a small tear in one corner and glimpsed what appeared to be an oil painting underneath. I hid my excitement and bought it for 15 Swiss francs (10 Euros).”
Back home, he ripped off the pastel and he and Aicha gasped at the quality of a painting that revealed a red-headed beauty with bare breasts.
Petroz, who freely admits he is not an expert on impressionists, immediately took the painting to the Geneva offices of Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
Both houses pronounced it a likely masterpiece and said it resembled the work of Edouard Manet. But they stressed the only way it could be sold or auctioned was to get a certificate of authenticity from the Wildenstein Foundation in Paris, which has exclusive rights to attribute the works of the 19th-century master.
The AFP report continues.
More about Petroz’ story here.