We still don’t really know much about “The Crying Boy.” Two theses regarding its origin dominate among historians. According to the first one, the illustration shows a little boy who lost his parents in a fire and was taken in by the painter Franchot Seville from Spain. It was he who was supposed to create this work. The boy’s name was Don Bonillo and he had been living on the street since his parents’ death. The orphaned child touched the painter’s heart, but the idyll did not last long.
A fire unexpectedly broke out and the artist’s entire studio burned down. The painter blamed the child for this and then banished the boy back to the street. After some time, he made a terrifying discovery: the only object that survived the flames was a portrait of a crying boy. The painting was intact.
The second version sounds a bit less puzzling. Some historians claim that the author of the painting is Giovanni Bragolin, who created many similar works and sold them to Great Britain. What is shocking, however, is what happened later around this mysterious canvas and the people into whose hands it ended up.
The mystery of the “Crying Boy” solved?
The painting gained enormous popularity in Great Britain, where it has had many reproductions. In 1985, London was hit by fires, which killed many people. The houses consumed by the flames had one thing in common: each of them had a reproduction of “The Crying Boy.” Firefighter Alan Wilkinson, who took part in firefighting operations at that time, talked about it – he found this painting in all the houses he visited.
Of course, these stories quickly took on a life of their own. People gossiped that the boy’s soul was “trapped” in the painting and would bring fire to any house it entered. The topic was often discussed by the British tabloid “The Sun”. The editorial team then organized a Halloween event dedicated to “The Crying Boy”. Participants came with copies of the original painting and then ritually burned them in a bonfire. Earlier, however, one of the journalists was supposed to hang a painting on the wall, but his boss told him to take it down. Some time later, the editor-in-chief’s house was also destroyed by fire.
However, as is the case with urban legends, science quickly solved the mysterious riddle of the “Crying Boy”, which was supposed to bring misfortune to the houses he entered. An expert opinion was conducted in which researchers analyzed the chemical composition of the painting. It turned out to be very well preserved. Moreover – which effectively debunks all myths, urban legends and conspiracy theories about him – all reproductions of “The Crying Boy” (according to some sources, this also applies to the original) have been impregnated with a fire-retardant substance that protects the item from both flames and damage. mechanical.
Sources: The Sun
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
