The supposed 'caravaggio' belongs to the Pérez de Castro family, a family with a great artistic and political tradition

The eccehomo withdrawn from the auction of the Casa Ansorena in Madrid, on April 8THE COUNTRY

The Pérez de Castro Méndez family, head of the IADE school of design and fashion and descendants of Evaristo Pérez de Castro, writer of the Constitution of Cádiz in 1812, is the mysterious owner of the supposed

caravaggio

that was going to be auctioned on April 8 in Casa Ansorena in Madrid, as confirmed to EL PAÍS by Jorge Coll, CEO of Colnaghi, one of the most important antique dealers in the world. Coll will go on to directly manage "the study, restoration and any other management" related to the painting, which is a family inheritance that the three sons of Mercedes Méndez Atard, artist and daughter of Diego Méndez, architect of the Valley of the Fallen, they decided to put it up for sale through the auction house.

The painting, initially attributed to the circle of the painter José de Ribera, was declared unbearable by the Ministry of Culture on the same day that the auction was to be held.

It was later protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest by the Community of Madrid after the Prado Museum produced a report in which it concluded "well-founded and documentary reasons" for attributing the work to the Italian Baroque painter.

For this reason, according to Coll, he will move to Spain from his residence in London to coordinate the study and analysis of the work with "experts in Caravaggio."

More information

• Discovering a 'caravaggio' at home: millions, bureaucracy and anxiety

• The Neapolitan trail of the supposed 'caravaggio'

• Questions and answers about the protection of Spanish historical heritage

"The family did their market research and that's why they hired us," explains Coll, "they want to have the peace of mind of knowing who the author is." The painting is in Madrid, says Coll, who limits himself to explaining that "it is kept in a place with the conditions it needs for security and conservation." Colnaghi will collaborate with the State and cultural institutions such as the Prado Museum that are involved in the study of the work.

The painting hung in a building in the Salamanca district of Madrid. Diego Méndez González was the architect who completed the work of the Valley of the Fallen and father of Mercedes Méndez de Atard. The alleged

caravaggio

came to this family through her husband, Antonio Pérez de Castro. An inheritance that, as Jaime Mato, CEO of Ansorena, said in an interview with the

Abc

, had been classified as “a

riverbank

” in “an expertise about 15 years ago”.

That attribution is the same that appeared in the auction catalog that Ansorena published in mid-March to announce the sale and the one that determined that the starting price was 1,500 euros.

A quantity that, according to all the experts consulted, was “ridiculous” even if the studies finally determine that it is not a

caravaggio,

due to the quality of the work, despite the poor state of conservation.

The auction did not take place.

Ansorena assured in a statement that days before it reached an agreement with the owners to remove the painting;

although Culture decreed inexportability hours before it began.

Two great sagas

Méndez Artad defines herself, in an interview with the IADE, as an artist with great interest in the Bauhaus and color. He studied architecture like his father Diego Méndez, who was, since 1940, Councilor for the National Heritage and Councilor for Architecture of the National Heritage, in addition to becoming the architect of the Civil House of the Head of State in 1943. Méndez was in charge of finishing the work of the Valley of the Fallen. In 1957, in an interview, he said that the most difficult part of the gigantic monument was the cross weighing more than 200,000 tons: "It was our nightmare." His daughter, as he related in the interview, could not finish her degree because she decided to dedicate herself to her family. That did not prevent her from working as a teacher at the Santa Helena school and at the IADE school of painting.

On the other side of the family, from the side of Antonio Pérez de Castro, husband of Mercedes Méndez, the trail leads to Evaristo Pérez de Castro, a liberal who acted as secretary of the table of the Cortes in its historic inaugural session of the 24th of September 1810 in Cádiz, in which he defended the freedom of the press.

He was also one of the 13 members of the Commission entrusted to the Cortes to prepare the draft of a Constitution that would be known as the Constitution of Cádiz.

In March 1820, he was appointed Minister of State in the first constitutional government, a position that he held for one year.

Later he was, between 1838 and 1840, president of the Council of Ministers.

According to the

Spanish Biographical Dictionary

, was “sacrificed by the regent María Cristina.

Pérez de Castro left the presidency of the Government on July 18, 1840 ″.

The three Pérez de Castro Méndez brothers hold various positions of responsibility at the IADE, as appears on the website of this center dedicated to art and design.

Antonio, deputy director of this institution, defines himself on his Instagram account as a sculptor, designer and teacher.

His brother Diego is the CEO and Mercedes is the Interior Design Coordinator at IADE.

One of the family members, chosen as a representative, will have to accredit himself as a spokesperson before the Cultural Heritage of Madrid in order to make a visit to the painting, always with the advice of Coll.

This first analysis will be attended by a team made up of community technicians, the Prado Museum and, if necessary, the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts, according to sources from the regional government.

A meeting that Colnaghi will now also attend.

The BIC category implies a series of responsibilities for this family. The Community of Madrid does not protect the work, but it must guarantee that the owners comply with the conservation requirements of the work. In addition, in case they decide to move the painting, expose it or restore it, the owners must inform the administration. If they opt for the sale, the State will have the right of first refusal within a period of two months with the price that the family establishes. The analysis of the painting is now in the hands of Colnaghi, although the Ministry of Culture asked the community that the Prado be in charge of this study (it could take years) to determine if it is a

caravaggio

lost more than four centuries ago. was able to reach Spain from Naples.