The Crying Boy

''The Crying Boy'' is a mass-produced print of a painting by Italian painter Giovanni BragolinPolidoro, Massimo (November/December 2012), "Curse That Painting!", ''Skeptical Inquirer'' 36 (6): 17–19 (1911–1981). This was the pen-name of the painter Bruno Amarillo. It was widely distributed from the 1950s onwards.

There are numerous alternative versions, all portraits of tearful young boys or girls. In addition to being widely known, certain urban legends attribute a 'curse' to the painting.

Curse

On 5 September 1985, the British tabloid newspaper ''The Sun'' reported that an Essex firefighter claimed that undamaged copies of the painting were frequently found amidst the ruins of burned houses. By the end of November, belief in the painting's curse was widespread enough that ''The Sun'' was organising mass bonfires of the paintings, sent in by readers.

Steve Punt, a British writer and comedian, investigated the curse in an episode of the BBC Radio 4 production called ''Punt PI,'' first aired on 9 October 2010 . The conclusion reached by the programme, following testing at the Building Research Establishment, is that the prints were treated with a varnish containing fire retardant, and that the string holding the painting to the wall would be the first part to deteriorate, resulting in the painting landing face down on the floor and being undamaged by the fire.

David Clarke, investigative journalist, says that stories naming the child as Don Bonillo or Diablo did not emerge until 2000 in a book by Tom Slemen. They relate the child to several fires including the painter's studio. However, he says that "there is absolutely no truth whatsoever to any of that."

List of related incidents

* It was in September 1985 that the phenomenon entered the public domain when Yorkshire fireman, Peter Hall, was quoted in a national newspaper as saying that fire brigades across the north of England had found examples of the same picture remaining untouched in fires whose causes remained unknown. Hall spoke out after his brother, Ron Hall, who did not believe the story, deliberately bought a copy of "The Crying Boy" to disprove the jinx, found his home in Swallownest, South Yorkshire, mysteriously burnt down soon afterwards. Seeing that the picture had been removed intact from the charred ruins, Ron Hall destroyed it.
* Dora Brand of Mitcham, Surrey, saw her home reduced to a pyre six weeks after she bought the painting, and although it was among many others she owned, it was the only one that survived.
* On 21 October 1985 the Parillo Pizza Palace, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was gutted by fire although its prominently displayed "The Crying Boy" picture remained in pristine condition.
* On 24 October 1985 the Godper family of Herringthorpe, South Yorkshire, lost their home to an unexplained fire. "The Crying Boy" picture displayed in their living room stayed unmarked while pictures on either side of it had been completely consumed by the flames.
* On 25 October 1985 in Heswall, Merseyside, a pair of the paintings hanging in the living and dining rooms of a house belonging to the Amos family were found intact after a gas explosion destroyed the building.
* On 12 November 1985 Malcolm Vaughan of Gloucestershire, helped to destroy a neighbor's picture. He returned home to find his own living room ablaze for reasons which firemen were unable to explain.
* In December 1985 William Armitage died at the age of 67 in a mysterious fire that swept through his house in Weston-Super-Mare, Avon. It was discovered that a "The Crying Boy" picture was found intact lying beside the pensioner's charred body. One of the firemen who dealt with the blaze was afterwards quoted at saying: "I've never believed in the jinx up until now, but when you actually come across a picture in a gutted room and it's literally the only thing that hasn't been touched, it is most odd".Gibraltar Vox newspaper; 09/07/1999; Page 31

See also

* '' The Hands Resist Him'', also known as ''The eBay Haunted Painting''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crying Boy, The
Curses
Italian paintings
British urban legends
1950s works
1950s prints
Painting controversies
Paintings of children
English folklore
The Sun (United Kingdom)