Now, 4 centuries after it was painted, “Ecce Homo” — that means “Behold the Man” in Latin — is on show for the primary time beginning Tuesday on the Prado Museum in Madrid.
“Ecce Homo has represented one of many biggest discoveries within the historical past of artwork,” the museum mentioned in a statement Monday, highlighting the unprecedented pace with which consultants confirmed its authenticity.
There are solely about 60 recognized works of Caravaggio in existence, which provides the portray an “extraordinary worth,” it added. “Ecce Homo” is on mortgage to the museum until mid-October.
“Ecce Homo,” which the museum mentioned was painted by Caravaggio round 1605-09, is within the chiaroscuro type for which the Italian grasp is famend, utilizing sturdy contrasts between gentle and darkish to create luminous scenes. Jesus is on the middle of the composition, with vivid drops of blood standing out in opposition to his pale pores and skin. Presenting him to the folks is the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, whereas the eyes of the soldier behind Jesus convey the turbulence of the second.
The 44-by-33-inch portray had been misattributed within the 2021 public sale to a pupil of José de Ribera, a distinguished Spanish Baroque artist, the Prado Museum mentioned. Spain halted the public sale after a number of artwork historians and consultants identified that it was most likely the work of Caravaggio.
Artwork historian Massimo Pulini, a professor of portray on the Academy of High quality Arts in Bologna, Italy, mentioned he instantly recognized the work as Caravaggio’s after receiving a photograph of the portray from an artwork vendor in 2021.
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It took him six minutes to compose himself and reply, he wrote in an e mail. “Figuring out a portray by Caravaggio right now is equal of discovering a misplaced chapter of a Shakespeare comedy,” Pulini mentioned. He added that “the unconventional spirituality of that portray has not aged in any respect and speaks to us with a language that’s nonetheless true right now.”
Whereas it’s not recognized for whom the work was created, the museum mentioned it first appeared within the property of a Neapolitan viceroy and at one level was a part of the royal assortment of Spain’s King Philip IV.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio led a tumultuous life, with stints in Rome, Naples, Sicily and Malta. In 1606, he fatally wounded a person in Rome, the place he had established a reputation as a distinguished artist, and fled to Naples to keep away from the dying penalty. An infinite Caravaggio canvas depicting the beheading of Saint John the Baptist on the cathedral of Valletta in Malta is described by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as essentially the most commanding of his works following his departure from Rome.
Discoveries of misplaced works usually trigger a stir. In January, a Gustav Klimt portray was rediscovered after nearly a century in what was hailed as a sensational discover. In 2019, a misplaced portray by pre-Renaissance Italian artist Cimabue was found hanging in a kitchen in northern France. It was later offered at public sale for $26.6 million, based on the BBC.
