On August 4, 2020, several tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Beirut, killing more than 300 people and devastating half the city.
Sursock Palace, one of his finest homes, is heavily damaged.
In its rubble, there are about thirty shredded paintings.
Some totally destroyed.
For two of them, however, a
Penitent Magdalen
and a
Hercules and Omphale
, the disaster also marks an incredible rediscovery: the experts recognize in it the work of the Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654), the first woman to enter the Florence Drawing Academy and now an auction star (one of his paintings sold for 4.8 million euros in 2019).
Read alsoThe invisible Artemisia, a woman, an artist and a work in the times of #MeToo
"In my opinion, they are both by the hand of Artemisia Gentileschi and date from her Neapolitan period
(around 1640, editor's note)
"
, testifies Sheila Barker, eminent specialist of the painter.
The Getty Museum in Los Angeles, responsible for restoring the second, has just…
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