Outdone by a tube of paint costing €79, Vittorio Sgarbi's alleged involvement in a painting scandal could cost him 4 to 12 years in prison

Italy's Macerata prosecutor’s office has concluded its investigation into the theft of the painting The Capture of Saint Peter by Rutilio Manetti, seized in January.  As mentioned in our earlier blog post, this case has stirred significant controversy in Italy’s art world as it has implicated flamboyant art critic and former Undersecretary of State for Culture, Vittorio Sgarbi. 

Evidence presented in the expert report, including a forger’s confession, as well as an in-depth analysis of materials used on the canvas, points to Sgarbi's alleged involvement in forgery and laundering, putting him at risk of a serious prison sentence. 

The investigation, which drew national attention last January started as a journalistic probe by journalists working with Il Fatto Quotidiano and Report.  This later evolved into a full-scale inquiry where the former politician was formally named as a suspect in a case of theft, laundering, and art counterfeiting, for (it is alleged) his role in trying to conceal the true origins of the artwork.

A major development in the case was the discovery of a 250 ml tube of Cremnitz White paint, allegedly purchased from the famous Poggi artist supply shop in Rome, within walking distance of the Collegio Romano where Vittorio Sgarbi was Undersecretary of State for Culture. 

What's so special about Cremnitz White oil paint?

Lead white was the only white used in European easel paintings all the way until the 19th century when Titanium White was introduced.  Cremnitz White, a specific type of lead white made from lead carbonate (PbCO₃), is known for its warm, slightly yellowish hue, and is highly prized by Old Masters. 

Named after the Bohemian town of Kormeriz where this type of paint was originally produced and called Cremnitz while under Hapsburg rule, this lead paint has a unique, stringy consistency that distinguishes it from other lead whites. Unlike Flake White, Cremnitz White contains no zinc oxide, which means it dries more slowly but retains a smoother, more workable texture ideal for traditional painting techniques.

Pasquale "Lino" Frongia

The artist behind the forgery of The Capture of Saint Peter by Rutilio Manetti is said to be 66-year-old Pasquale Frongia, a friend of Sgarbi's.  Known to most as "Lino," Frongia has reportedly stated that he added a torch to the painting at the art critic's request—an addition to the painting not painted by Manetti's hand. 

Frongia is known across Europe as a remarkable and accomplished copyist and has twice faced European arrest warrants, in 2019 and 2023, based on forgery charges issued by the Paris court, though Italy has resisted his extradition to date.  In June 2023, the Carabinieri of Reggio Emilia arrested Frongia who stands accused of fraud and money laundering crimes.  

According to what has been stated by the French judicial authorities the forger would have created paintings on behalf of Emilian art merchant Giuliano Ruffini, who himself was extradited to France last December.  Ruffini is then alleged to have sold the paintings onward to museums in all of Europe, including the Louvre, attributing them to great painters.

Investigators believe that the Manetti artwork, stolen on 14 February 2013 from a castle in Buriasco, was altered either to increase its market value or to differentiate the painting, once handled by Sgarbi, from the one which had been reported as stolen.  

After going missing, the artwork resurfaced eight years later, displaye in an exhibition in the city of Lucca, I Pittori della Luce.  During this exhibition the painting was presented as coming from Sgarbi's personal collection and as having been found in an attic at the Villa Maidalchina, which in the 1600s was owned by Olimpia Pamphilij, sister-in-law of Pope Innocent, owned by the Sgarbi family since the year 2000.

Consultant to the Public Prosecutor's Office Barbara Lavorini who is a conservator for the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione e il Restauro in Rome conducted photogrammetric surveys of the artwork, which included biological analysis of the painting's fibres, x-rays and multispectral analysis looking into what was believed to be a newly added torch, to determine if this detail was a recent addition or an original feature.

In her evaluation Lavorini writes: 

"As regards any modifications or additions to the original pictorial layout - the technical document states - it was possible to demonstrate that in the upper left part of the painting new elements were created with industrially produced pigments: the lit torch, the light around it and the layers that define the outline of the column".

Additional analysis also found signs of improper handling, suggesting that the painting was once rolled and stored improperly, perhaps damaged when the painting was stolen from the Castello di Buriasco and reported as stolen by Margherita Buzio as well as conditions compatible with the photos that showed it rolled up “like a carpet” the day it was delivered to Gianfranco Mingardi, one of Sgarbi's restorers, at the exit of the A4 motorway in central Brescia. 

For now, the legal complications for Sgarbi are serious. According to the Italian news site Il Fatto Quotidiano, Sgarbi's lawyer, Giampaolo Cicconi has been in contact with the attorney representing the owner of the stolen painting, which suggests that a settlement with her might be proffered as a means to get the artwork's owner to withdraw her civil action. 

If convicted, the €79 euro tube of paint may cost Sgarbi 4 to 12 years in custody, a hefty sum, for what some are now calling Vittó's little candle of disgrace.

For a look at the differences between the original artwork and the one possessed by Signore Sgarbi, take a look at ARCA's overlay of the stolen painting and the one exhibited at the early exhibition I Pittori della Luce. Da Caravaggio a Paolini, in Lucca.

Aside from the lighted torch element, which illuminates the architectural backdrop on the upper left side, the painting owned by the Cavallini Sgarbi Foundation is objectively identically proportioned character by character to the painting stolen from the Buriasco Castle.  

One could argue, as Vittorio Sgarbi has, that the stolen painting was a much later replica of his painting, however that still would not explain the absence/occurrence of the lit torch, and again, how the artisan who replicated the work would have precisely matched the brush strokes in such an extracting way. 

According to the investigations of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the admissions of Pasquale Frongia, the Carabinieri's assessment agrees.  Their note reads:  

"The investigations have therefore made it possible to establish that the 'maquillage' operation had been directly commissioned by Vittorio Sgarbi to the painter Pasquale Frongia, contradicting the version publicly provided by the art critic on the provenance of the painting, namely the casual discovery of the work inside Villa Maidalchina in Viterbo, purchased by his family in 2000".

By: Lynda Albertson