Caravaggio could have inspired M.I.A.’s most famous song: live fast, die young, bad girls do it well , saving the distance of genre and time this verse summarizes the life of this Baroque painter whose great works were thought to be known until now.
In 2021 an Ecce Homo (passage from the Gospel in which Pontius Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd) reappears at an auction of the Ansorena house in Madrid, the painting was originally attributed, according to the Prado Museum, to a pupil of José de Ribera, and its starting price was 1500 €. The museum itself alerted the Ministry of Culture of the relevance of the painting, and once in the hands of its new owner, and under the custody of the Colnaghi gallery and supervision of the Community of Madrid, the painting was restored.
In this process, the origin of the work is thoroughly investigated, and it becomes clear that it belongs to an Italian master at first examination. In a second study, four experts from different countries reach the same conclusion: this is an Ecce Homo by Caravaggio. The Ministry of Culture declares the painting inexportable and the Community of Madrid decrees that it is an Asset of Cultural Interest.
when will it be possible to see Caravaggio’s Ecce Homo?
Now the Prado Museum, which has closely followed the entire process during these three years, will exhibit the painting for the first time from May 28 until October 2024. Its current owner, who remains anonymous, has loaned the painting to the Spanish art gallery for nine months so that the public can admire this work that originally belonged to the private collection of Philip IV, to which also belonged many of the paintings that the museum treasures.
The work arrived at the Madrid court in 1659, and later, in the 18th century, it passed into the hands of Godoy, Carlos IV’s favourite. Its last known owner is Evaristo Pérez de Castro, a 19th century politician who contributed to the writing of the Spanish Constitution of 1837, and it was his family who sold the painting for an unknown final price. This Ecce Hommo will be exhibited in the gallery along with another work by the master of the Counter-Reformation, David vanquishing Goliath.