Painting nearly sold for £1,300 is a lost Caravaggio, says Spain’s Prado museum

The Prado museum in Madrid has confirmed that a painting due to be auctioned in Spain in 2021 is in fact a work by Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio that was considered lost. It will be unveiled to the public for the first time in the museum later this month.

The Prado said in a statement on Monday the work titled Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) will go on display from 27 May until October as a special one-piece exhibition following an agreement with its new owner, who has not been identified.

“Since its reappearance at an auction three years ago, Ecce Homo has represented one of the greatest discoveries in the history of art,” the museum said.

“Painted by the great Italian artist around 1605-09 and believed to have once been part of the private collection of Phillip IV of Spain, the painting is one of around only 60 known works by Caravaggio in existence, and thus one of the most valuable old master artworks in the world,” the Prado added.

In April 2022, Spanish authorities halted an auction of the work, which was then attributed to a disciple of a 17th-century Spanish painter, José de Ribera. They also put an export ban on it after the museum alerted the government it could be a Caravaggio.

The painting was due to be auctioned with a starting price tag of €1,500 (£1,280). The value of an authentic Caravaggio would stretch into tens of millions of euros, if not more.

Miguel Falomir, director of the Prado, said the painting’s new owner had worked with experts to restore Ecce Homo to its former glory. He said the work arrived in Spain in the 17th century.

He said that since the 19th century it had been in the hands of a family in Madrid who recently sold it to an individual who wanted the public presentation to take place in the Prado museum.

“For our part, we are more than happy to be the stage to present this new unshown work of Caravaggio to the public and critics,” Mr Falomir said in a video statement released by the museum.

The oil-on-canvas work depicts the Biblical passage of the Ecce Homo, in which Jesus Christ is presented to the crowds before being crucified. The work measures 111 by 86 centimetres (44 by 34 inches).

Although now owned by a private individual, the painting will not be allowed to leave Spain without government permission.

The Prado said that since April 2021, the work has been under the custodianship of the Colnaghi art gallery in collaboration with experts. The painting was restored by specialist Andrea Cipriani and his team under the supervision of experts from the Madrid regional government.