Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Caravaggio Update

News from Caravaggio's world...the painting an art historian from the Vatican thought might be a Caravaggio, announced in L'Osservatore Romano last week? Um, not so much. The Vatican's chief art historian, Antonio Paolucci, admits in the latest L'Osservatore that the painting is likely a copy of an original by a follower of Caravaggio, although he was careful not to disparage his colleague who had suggested otherwise.

In other news, attendance figures have been released for the Caravaggio show at the Scuderie del Quirinale this spring...try 600,000 visitors. For a show that featured only about 25 paintings, that is downright amazing. Vincent draws that many at some venues (often more, granted). But Caravaggio? Told you he was HOT. As for the all-night opening of the Galleria Borghese and Caravaggio-owning churches in Rome last week, an estimated 20,000 visitors followed the trail. WOW!!

3 comments:

Hels said...

I would follow the trail too :)

The kerfuffle about the Caravaggio reminds me of the The Rembrandt Research Project which started in 1968 to verify, or otherwise, the true authorship of each and every Rembrandt painting. Hundreds of galleries and owners were devastated when their previously brilliant and expensive Rembrandts were shown to be painted by copiers and students.

Alberti's Window said...

Ha! I thought that the St. Lawrence painting was probably a copy. I think that people are so steeped in Caravaggiomania this year that it's hard to think sensibly. Everyone wants to claim that they have a Caravaggio on their hands. (And hey, I feel the same way. If only I could be in Europe to see the Scuderie del Quirinale show!)

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