Stephanie G. Mathis Vittorio Sgarbi is a junior Italian culture minister and art critic. He has been accused of stealing a 17th-century painting from a castle located in Piedmont. The authorities are investigating him now for laundering stolen artwork and changing its appearance in order to avoid detection.
The artwork is RutilioManetti’s Capture of Saint Peter. It’s worth between EUR200,000 to EUR300,000. (roughly $188,000 and $327,000.) The painting was displayed until 2013 when its owner revealed that it had been removed from the frame and replaced by a photocopy.
In recent weeks, Italian journalists published an exposé in the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano and investigated “Report,” an RAI TV series. Both came to the same conclusion: Sgarbi’s 2021 exhibit featured a painting that was almost identical to the missing one.
According to Angela Giuffrida of the Guardian, Margherita Buzio, the castle owner, told Italian journalists that a person believed to be Sgarbi’s friend visited the property just before the theft. The individual inquired about purchasing the work.
Sgarbi’s primary defense revolves around a small candle illuminating the corner of the painting, a detail not present in the stolen work. Sgarbi’s primary defense is a small, illuminated candle in the corner of the painting. This detail is not present in stolen artwork.
He told the magazine that Manetti was known for his style of placing candles all over.
Sgarbi claimed in a post translated on X (formerly Twitter) that the accusations were “ridiculous,” and were motivated by “political aggressiveness.”
Opposition parties have called out Sgarbi for his resignation due to a long list of scandals. Euronews Anca Ulea, Sgarbi was previously removed from the parliament after hurling insults at officials. Sgarbi is accused of illegally importing a second painting by French artist Valentin De Boulogne, worth EUR5m (roughly $5.4m). Authorities in Monaco have also seized the painting. According to Alessandro Ford of Polio, Sgarbi is being investigated by Italy’s antitrust authority over allegedly appearing at cultural events for “large amounts of money.”
Sgarbi, despite the increasing accusations, remains firm in his innocence about the Manetti painting. He insists that “it will prove that mine is the original and that elements, including candle, are part the painting,” according to Daniel Verdu, El Pais.
