The Spanish government on Thursday blocked the auction of a painting that could be attributed to Caravaggio, a famous Italian painter of the Renaissance.
This oil on canvas was considered until then as the work of a painter from the school of José de Ribera and estimated at 1,500 euros.
"The Ministry of Culture declares
inexportable
a painting which was to be auctioned in Madrid, because it could be attributed to Caravaggio", tweeted the Minister of Culture José Manuel Rodriguez Uribes, posting an article in the daily El Pais on the 'case.
The table in question is illustrated in the Spanish article.
Cultura declared “inexportable” a cuadro that iba subastarse in Madrid al sospechar que puede ser de Caravaggio via @el_pais https://t.co/gTmux5n7nw
- José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes (@jmrdezuribes) April 8, 2021
The painting was removed from the auction, confirmed auction house Ansorena, which was in charge of the sale.
"The various experts are currently studying the work," she added.
"A deep bond"
According to specialist Maria Cristina Terzaghi, associate professor of modern art history at Roma Tre University, this painting is a Caravaggio.
"It's him," she assured in the columns of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
"The purple cloak with which Christ is dressed has the same value as the red of the Salome (
Editor's note:
with the head of Saint John the Baptist
) of the Prado in Madrid", signed Caravaggio, according to her.
“This work has a deep link with the paintings (
by Caravaggio
) made at the start of his stay in Neapolitan”.
Likewise, Pontius Pilate in the foreground recalls Saint Peter's martyr of Our Lady of the Rosary visible at the Kunsthistorisches in Vienna.
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