Visual arts|In Madrid, the public will be able to see Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s latest work that has been confirmed as authentic. Caravaggio is especially known for his glowing religious paintings.
Internationally the prestigious Prado Museum has put on display a new one Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggion painted in Madrid, Spain.
Behold Homoksi the named painting depicts a scene from the New Testament in which Pontius Pilate show of Jesus to the crowds.
According to the internationally acclaimed museum, the piece was painted between 1605 and 1609 and is believed to have belonged to the King of Spain Philip IV:n’s private collection. It has also featured his son Charles IIin the apartments of
The saying “Ecce homo” means “Look at the man” and is said to have been used by Pilate during the trial of Jesus.
The value of the work is increased by the fact that the Italian painter has only seventy known works.
Behold the Man the sale is accompanied by drama, as the Madrid auction house was to sell the painting in April 2021 at a ridiculous price. At the time, the work was considered a Spanish artist Jose de Riberan as a work, and the opening price was set at only 1,500 euros.
However, the Prado Museum announced that it had found enough evidence to authenticate the painting as a genuine work by Caravaggio. Thus, it managed to stop the sale of the work just a few hours before it was hammered.
Before after ending up on the wall of the museum, the restored work passed the analysis of art experts, where attention is paid to, among other things, the painting style, the paints used, fibers and other materials. Identification was made difficult by the fact that Caravaggio did not usually sign his works.
Otherwise, the investigation was simple, because Caravaggio primed his dark-toned paintings with lead-white, a toxic dye that is banned today. After this, he painted over the lead white layer by layer.
With patient work, he managed to create a strange glow in the high points of the painting. That fine light is considered his trademark today.
The Prado Museum is one of the leading art museums in Europe.
One of experts, professor of art history Maria Cristina Terzaghi tells that he paid particular attention to the “glow of the body” of the Jesus figure and the “three-dimensionality of the three figures”.
Caravaggio used ordinary people as his models, often Roman prostitutes. The models often wore revealing outfits, which caused not only admiration but also criticism.
The authenticity of the work was finally confirmed during this year. The museum announced that top experts have declared the painting to be “undoubtedly Caravaggio’s masterpiece” and called it “one of the greatest discoveries in the history of art”.
Auction after the cancellation, the sale of the painting has been handled by the London art gallery Colnaghi. Later media have said that its new owner is a British citizen living in Spain, who paid 36 million euros for the painting.
It is known that the new owner has promised to lend the work to the museum for an indefinite period.
Prado-museum you can expect quite a lot of attention from the painting, because Caravaggio appeals to the general public thanks to both his work and his personal history. He painted commissioned works for palaces and private chapels in churches, but he also ran amok in the city alleys with a sword, which is why there are several police records.
After a fatal fight, he was sentenced to death and fled the country, but was later pardoned.
Caravaggio died of fever at the age of 39 while returning to Rome. Later, his grave was opened. In the studies, significant amounts of lead were found in the bones.
Perhaps the same thing that makes his works glow.
Correction 27.5. at 12:26: The main picture showing the painting has been changed. The uppermost main picture in the case was previously mistakenly another work from the same period called Ecce Homo by Caravaggio.
Correction 27.5. at 2:56 p.m.: The artist’s name was written incorrectly in some places as Caravaccio. It’s Caravaggio.