'New' Caravaggio 'not by him', panel rules
St Lawrence 'probably' by southern Italian Caravaggesco
27 July, 16:23
(ANSA) - Rome - A painting touted as a possible new Caravaggio is not in fact the work of the 16th-century master, a panel of experts have concurred.
"It isn't by Caravaggio," agreed top Caravaggio scholars called to assess the work by Rome museums superintendent Rossella Vodret.
The Martyrdom of St Lawrence, hanging in a Jesuit church in Rome, was painted by a later member of a school inspired by the master, a so-called Caravaggesco, they said.
He was "probably" a southern Italian, perhaps from Sicily, but could have been from Malta, the panel said.
The head of the Chiesa del Gesu', Father Daniele Libanori, said he was surprised Vatican daily l'Osservatore Romano decided to splash the painting across its cover on July 17, sending ripples through the art world. "It was not our intention," Libanori said.
The priest revealed that the painting, in a poor state, had come from the home of a Jesuit, last appearing in records in 1927.
The Jesuits decided to restore it for the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio's death.
"It was very dark and dirty" before centuries of grime were removed, he said.
The sensation caused by l'Osservatore's article "amazed us and seemed improper," Libanori said.
Tuesday's thumbs down came from an international panel of experts including Vodret, Gianni Papi, Marco Bona Castellotti and Sybille Ebert Schifferer.
Vodret said more work would be done in September to try to establish an author.
The panel's findings had been anticipated by the director of the Vatican Museums, Antonio Paolucci, who told l'Osservatore that the work was "only a modest copy" of a lost painting by a "quality" painter. When it first touted the work as a possible Caravaggio, l'Osservatore said it presented several characteristics of the artist's work including chiaroscuro, the saint's body movement, and the perspective from which the subject is seen.
Caravaggio scholars have noted that claims of new findings were made quite frequently but usually failed to stand up to scrutiny.
One also pointed out that St Lawrence - a martyr burned by Emperor Valerian in 258 AD - was not one of Caravaggio's known subjects.
400th ANNIVERSARY HOPE.
Hopes that a new Caravaggio might have come to light coincided with a slew of shows marking the 400th anniversary of the painter's death.
In the latest, last weekend, Rome's Borghese Gallery and three Roman churches stayed open all night and art lovers were ferried by shuttle bus between them to admire all the Caravaggios in Rome.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (29 September 1571-18 July 1610) was active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610, often having to flee cities and leave works because of his tempestuous nature that led him to kill at least one man.
His intense realism and dramatic use of lighting had a decisive influence on the emerging Baroque school.
Caravaggio's bones in his last resting place on the south Tuscan coast were identified last month.
The investigation, launched six months ago, concluded that the painter was indeed buried in Porto Ercole, bringing centuries of speculation to an end.
Experts said Caravaggio landed in the Tuscan port after fleeing Naples by boat with a serious wound.
Already ill when he arrived, his health deteriorated further when he contracted typhoid after eating contaminated food.
He died at the age of 39 on July 18, 1610.
