July 27, 2010 in Nation/World

Vatican reverses itself: Painting not a Caravaggio

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VATICAN CITY – The Vatican’s top art historian on Monday shot down a report in its own newspaper that suggested a recently discovered painting was a Caravaggio.

The head of the Vatican Museums, Antonio Paolucci, wrote in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano that the work was most likely a copy of an original by a Caravaggio-influenced artist.

It was L’Osservatore itself that set the art world aflutter last week with a front-page article headlined “A New Caravaggio,” detailing the artistry behind the “Martyrdom of St. Lawrence,” which had been discovered in the sacristy of a Jesuit church in Rome.

The author of the article, art historian Lydia Salviucci Insolera, had made clear that she was not making any conclusions about the authenticity of the work and that more diagnostic tests were required.

But the impression given by the newspaper was that the painting was indeed a never-before-seen Caravaggio: The definitive-sounding headline appeared above the fold alongside a color photograph of the painting – on the 400th anniversary of the master’s death.

But on Monday, Vatican Museum chief Paolucci, a former Italian culture minister, issued the equivalent of a Holy See mea culpa and reversal.

In a front-page article titled “A New Caravaggio? Not really” Paolucci wrote that the work was not of Caravaggio’s quality and termed it “modest” at best, pointing out in particular that the hands were completely out of perspective.

Caravaggio died in the Tuscan coast town of Porto Ercole in 1610 at age 39 under mysterious circumstances. He had been hugely influential and famous, but had also led a dissolute life of street brawls and alcohol.

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