A lost Caravaggio painting of the scourged and thorn-crowned Christ that was misattributed and almost sold for just €1,500 is to go on show at the Prado museum in Madrid three years after its discovery shocked the art world and made headlines across the globe.
The Ecce Homo, which measures 111cm by 86cm, had been attributed to the circle of the 17th-century Spanish artist José de Ribera when it was offered for sale at a Madrid auction house in April 2021. But something about the painting and its luminous qualities led experts in Spain and Italy to re-examine the work.
As collectors around the world got wind of the painting’s possible creator, experts at the Prado contacted Spain’s culture ministry, which moved quickly to impose an export ban. The Madrid regional government also speedily awarded the painting protected heritage status to keep it in the country.
On Monday, the Prado said the painting – which was bought from the family that had owned it for generations by an anonymous purchaser for an undisclosed sum – would go on show at the museum from 28 May until October.
The Prado’s director, Miguel Falomir, said the painting’s new owner had worked with experts to restore the Ecce Homo to its former glory and to piece together the story of its travels.
“We’ve discovered that this is indeed a Caravaggio, and a painting that was brought to Spain in the 17th century and attributed to the Italian painter,” said Falomir. “During the Napoleonic invasion, it left the royal collection and it had been in a private family collection in Madrid since the 19th century. The family recently decided to sell the picture to a private buyer, and this person became interested in exhibiting this very important work at the Prado.”
Falomir said the museum was delighted to have been chosen as the venue where the work would be shown to public and critics alike. “It’s an enormous opportunity and one we’re thrilled about,” he said. “We’re also celebrating the fact that this great work of art will stay in Spain and become part of Spain’s culture.”
David García Cueto, the Prado’s head of pre-1800 Italian and French painting, said the museum was very happy to have a second Caravaggio added to its collection – albeit temporarily. The museum’s sole Caravaggio is David with the Head of Goliath, which was painted in Rome around 1600 when the hard-living artist was 30 years old.
“By then, he had achieved a stylistic maturity through his refined use of light and shade that allowed him to capture reality in a close-up manner,” said García Cueto. “Caravaggio’s stylistic evolution in the last 10 years of his life was pretty innovative, expressionistic, free and striking. The Ecce Homo, painted around 1607-1610, offers a complementary vision of Caravaggio’s late work and condenses the best of the master’s style in his final years.”
The painting’s discovery led to a bidding war that is likely to have culminated in a purchase price of tens of millions of euros.
Three years ago, Massimo Pulini, an art historian and professor at the Bologna Fine Arts Academy, told the Guardian he had identified the picture as a Caravaggio when an antiques dealer friend emailed him a picture of the auction catalogue.
“When I saw the painting, I couldn’t believe my eyes,” said Pulini. “The impact was so immediate that I instantly knew this was a Caravaggio. It was like meeting someone on the street who you haven’t seen for a long time. It’s difficult to explain what happens in certain moments when, in a millisecond, you have such an impression. It’s often a question of instinct.”
