Brawler, brawler, murderer… and a genius. Nobody is perfect. Caravaggio is the artist of the moment. One day in and another too, for one reason or another, for almost a year the Italian painter has not left the cultural pages of the newspapers.
In April 2021, the news broke that the Ansorena room from Madrid was going to auction a ‘Crown of Thorns’, from the Círculo de Ribera. It started with a starting price of 1,500 euros. But before the sale began to speculate that it might be a lost ‘Ecce Homo’ by Caravaggio, brought to Spain by the second Count of Castrillo, viceroy of Naples. The painting, owned by the brothers Perez de Castroit was
withdrawn from auction. They hired the antique dealer Jorge Coll, CEO and partner of Colnaghi (firm chosen to take care of the management of the painting), as well as spokesman for the family. Over the days we learned that the canvas was part of the Royal Collections (it was included in the wills of Carlos II and Carlos III) and that it ended up in the Academy of Fine Arts, until due to an exchange for a ‘San Juan Bautista’ of Alonso Cano ended up in the hands of Evaristo Perez de Castro, ancestor of the current owners. The work, which has the blessing of Maria Cristina Terzaghi, one of the highest Caravaggio authorities, is in the custody of a specialized company, awaiting its restoration, confirmation of its authorship and its possible sale. Being declared BIC and non-exportable, its price will be much lower than it would reach in the international market.
Two other works by Caravaggio have also finished on the market, although in this case the news came from Italy. On January 18, the so-called ‘auction of the century‘: Caravaggio’s only mural painting failed to find a buyer. The composition (the celestial sphere with Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto), commissioned from the artist by Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, a great collector and patron of the master, is found on the ceiling of one of the rooms in the Aurora Casino, also called Villa Ludovisi, named following its last owner, Prince Nicolò Boncompagni-Ludovisi. The sale occurred because of a family dispute between the prince’s third wife, Rita Jenette, and the children of his first marriage. Valued at around 470 million euros, the minimum offer was 353 million. There were no bids. There will be a new opportunity to buy the Caravaggio (villa included) on April 7th.
Recently, Caravaggio was back in the news. In this case, a ‘Crowning of Thorns’ by the painter, found in the Palazzo degli Alberti in Prato, near Florence. The building housed the offices of the Banca Popolare di Vicenza, which went bankrupt in 2017. The institution is liquidating its assets, including the art collection. In addition to the Caravaggio (some specialists doubt its authorship), there are another 124 paintings by artists such as Tintoretto, Tiepolo or Bellini in the two headquarters of the bank. The other is the Palazzo Thiene in Vicenza. There is only one drawback: the Italian Heritage Law does not allow the works to be moved from the places where they are. Whoever wants (and can) buy the Caravaggio will not be able to move it.
And today the artist returns to the press in Spain. Among the jewels of National Heritage is one of the four Caravaggios that are preserved in the Spanish collections. It is the splendid ‘Salome with the head of the Baptist’ (circa 1607), which is exhibited, exceptionally, starting tomorrow at the Stucco Cabinet of the Royal Palace of Madrid, as part of the visit to the palace. Inspired by models from Pompeii and Herculaneum, the room retains the decoration designed by Sabatini for Queen Maria Luisa of Parma. The other three are ‘David the winner of Goliath’, del Prado; ‘Santa Catalina de Alejandría’, from the Thyssen (it was restored in 2018) and ‘Saint Jerome in meditation’, from the Montserrat Monastery. With this new presentation, sponsored by the Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán Foundation, this masterpiece is relocated to a place of honor.
In its day it hung in the painting gallery of the Royal Palace. In 2016 the painting was part of the exhibition ‘From Caravaggio to Bernini. Masterpieces of the Italian Seicento in the Royal Collections’ at the Royal Palace, which later traveled to the Quirinal Palace in Rome. And in 2019 it was exhibited in the exhibition ‘The Last Caravaggio’, curated by María Cristina Terzaghi at the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples. But, apart from these exhibitions, it was not shown to the public once more in the Royal Palace. Why? Carmen Garcia-Frias, curator of Ancient Painting of National Heritage, explains that, «due to a reorganization of the collections, the painting gallery was closed, also thinking that the Museum of Royal Collections was going to be inaugurated before. Then it was impossible to open the gallery with the pandemic…» It is still closed to the public. The Caravaggio will continue to be exhibited in the Stucco Cabinet until the inauguration of the Royal Collections Museum. According to his director, Leticia Ruiz, «There is little. We are working a lot on it. The museographic part is already there. The things that remain to be concluded escape us a little. Will it be this year or in 2023? “At the moment, this year we have work. I think that opening in 2022 is quite ruled out ».
Leticia Ruiz explains that «right now Caravaggio is object of renewed interest by the appearance of a new specimen in the Spanish collections. And both the public and the specialists asked us to see a painting as important as this in a calm and continuous way. With so few ‘Caravaggios’ in our country, being able to exhibit ours in such a significant way is a luxury for the visitor». In statements to ABC, he says that, at least since he arrived at National Heritage from the Prado, three requests have been received from the public, who demanded to see the Caravaggio: «We realized that this painting might not be seen. But how do we not have it exposed? You have to teach it. They are absolutely right.”
It has been wanted to accompany this new Caravaggio installation with a series of activities. This followingnoon takes place in the Chapel of the Royal Palace a concert, «Chiaroscuro, the sound canvas. Music in the time of Caravaggio». In addition, a cycle of three conferences, on Tuesdays March 8, 15 and 22, by María Cristina Terzaghi, one of the world’s leading experts on Caravaggio; David García Cueto, head of Italian and French painting until 1800 at the Prado Museum, and Carmen García-Frías. And National Heritage will create a ‘microsite’‘El Caravaggio de Palacio’, where the secrets of this work can be revealed through a virtual experience.
It was saved from the Alcázar fire
‘Salomé with the head of the Baptist’, by Caravaggio, is a key piece of the pictorial collection of Philip IV. It is not known who commissioned it. It appeared documented for the first time in the artistic collection of the second count of Castrillo, García de Avellaneda y Haro, who was viceroy of Naples between 1653 and 1659. He mentions a painting, with a description identical to the work on display, in an inventory of goods he carried out in 1657. The painting entered the Royal Collections in later years. In 1666 the work was already listed in the inventory of the Alcazar of Madrid. He managed to save himself from the fire that devastated the Madrid palace on Christmas Eve 1734. After passing through various palaces and royal mansions, he settled permanently in the Royal Palace of Madrid in 1951. last restoration of ‘Salomé with the head of the Baptist’ took place in 2015 and was directed by Rafael Alonso. The completely black background of the composition recovered the original greenish tones; the metallic shine of the hilt of the sword and the subtlety of the transparency of the veil on Salomé’s neckline were rescued. «This work generates concern. It is like a murder in the privacy of the home«, warns Leticia Ruiz. There is another version of Caravaggio’s ‘Salome’ in the National Gallery in London.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Milan, 1571-Porto Ercole, 1610), known as Caravaggio, is today one of the most admired and coveted artists in the world, but this was not always the case. Forgotten for centuries, he was rescued in 1951 by Roberto Longhi with a major exhibition at the Royal Palace in Milan. And since then the myth has only grown. Beyond his tumultuous biography (he killed a man, fled to Naples, died in Porto Ercole in circumstances not yet revealed…), he was a genius who revolutionized Baroque painting with his innovative compositions and splendid chiaroscuro of the. Why does he continue to fascinate us today? «Caravaggio transforms everything, he changes the way of looking», concludes Leticia Ruiz.
