Art Auction Halted As Spain Investigates Whether Painting Is Actually A Lost Caravaggio

Art Auction Halted As Spain Investigates Whether Painting Is Actually A Lost Caravaggio

Share to Linkedin The Spanish government has stepped in to prevent the auction of a painting attributed to a little-known Spanish artist after art experts raised concerns the piece may actually be by Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. A woman looks at two paintings both called "Mary Magdalen in Ecstasy" and by Italian painter ... [+] Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio in 2018. Spain's Culture Ministry issued an export ban Wednesday on The Crown of Thorns, a small oil painting depicting Jesus before he was crucified, after Spain's national museum The Prado reached out Tuesday with concerns about the painting. The Crown of Thorns was believed to have been painted by followers of José de Ribera, a 17th-century Spanish painter who experts say was heavily influenced by Caravaggio's work, though some art experts now say the piece may have been misattributed due to the artists' similar styles. Spanish auction house Ansorena pulled the painting from a Thursday auction, where it was estimated to sell for less than $1, 800 “” if it is indeed a Caravaggio, its true worth could be as much as $180 million if sold to a private collector, Italian art critic and politician Vittorio Sgarbi