Do you know the legend of the 'boy crying' picture?
Everyone likes inexplicable stories, and the so-called "picture of the crying boy", painted by Italian Giovanni Bragolin, turned into an urban legend during the 1980s, precisely because it was enveloped in an aura of mystery. The artist was actually named Bruno Amadio, and was famous for portraying a number of tearful boys and girls.
Like every self-respecting legend, Amadio's painting is full of contradictions, unexplained events, controversies, and a hint of occultism. The artist even attended an art academy in Venice - his hometown - and one of the versions of the legend, which began to circulate in England, says that the painting that eventually gained a reputation as "cursed" was a portrait of Amadio of himself. son.
English version
The little boy was terrified of the fire, and to make him cry for the painting, Amadio held matches burning before his face. Still according to this version of the legend, the boy would have died a few weeks after the work was completed, and the artist during a terrible fire in his house - just to be recorded, the Italian was born in 1911, and died. only in 1981.
The legend eventually consolidated after the portrait of the boy was mass-produced in England, and several recorded fires in the country were attributed to the painting's curse, which was one of the few items found intact after the incidents. A well-known British tabloid even published an extensive article on painting-related investigations, and even public campaigns were organized to destroy the figures.
Legend Variations
In addition to the story that circulated - and was consolidated by the tabloid - in England, there are also no less interesting versions, including the other children portrayed by Bragolin. One of them tells that the painter, having difficulties to sell his paintings, decided to make a pact with the devil. However, instead of offering his own soul in the "business", the artist would have sold those of the buyers of his paintings. Smart guy ...
Another version says that the paintings would contain several subliminal messages, and some of the portrayed children would appear with dilated pupils. The painter would have even confessed that the cause of this was that the little ones would be dead, and that they were royal children who had been abducted to be delivered to the demon.
There is also the story that Bragolin, after fleeing Italy to Spain during the war, would have used as “role models” the children who lived in a local orphanage that was - guess what! - destroyed some time later in a terrible fire. They also say that the painter would have asked all those who had his works to get rid of them, and that he would have even given an interview to a famous variety show here in Brazil!
If you were curious, you can check out the original paintings by Giovanni Bragolin / Bruno Amadio through this link, and be sure to tell us in the comments if you already knew this urban legend or if you heard any version that we didn't include here.
* Originally posted on 08/27/2013.
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