From Tuesday 28 May to 23 February 2025, the Prado Museum in Madrid exhibits “Ecce Homo”, the “discovered” painting of Caravaggio, (1571-1610).
The masterpiece, painted by the great Italian artist around 1605-1609 - a few years before his death at the age of 39 - and which was part of the private collection of King Philip IV of Spain, is one of the 60 works known and officially attributed to Caravaggio .
The work is an oil on canvas that depicts the biblical passage of Ecce Homo: Jesus Christ is presented to the crowd before being crucified.
The painting measures approximately 111 by 86 centimetres.
The history of this painting is curious, as is the entire history of Caravaggio's "Ecce Homo". Because there is one too Palazzo Bianco, in Genoa, near i Strada Nuova museums, certified since 1954 by one of the greatest Italian art historians and critics, Roberto Longhi (1890-1970).
“Ecce Homo” from Genoa was discovered in 1929, in a municipal warehouse in Genoa, and initially attributed to a modest painter of Caravaggio inspiration Lionello Spada (1576-1622), known as “Caravaggio's Monkey”, for his “copying” style.
And, three years ago, Madrid's "Ecce Homo" emerged. A true artistic derby Genoa-Madrid!
After all: how many “Ecce Homo” did Caravaggio ever paint?
The “Genoese” Ecce Homo.
In the spring of 2021, the Madrid painting of “Ecce Homo” was about to be put up for sale, with the Ansorena auction house of Madrid, by the Pérez de Castro Méndez family, then owners of the work, with the starting price of only paltry 1.500 euros!!! Not great connoisseurs…
The low rating was due to the fact that the painting had originally been attributed to the painter's circle Jose de Ribera (1591-1652), a discreet artist of the time, very active in Naples with the nickname "Spaniard".
However, several experts and enthusiasts had become interested in the painting, raising the hypothesis that it could even be a Caravaggio.
And so, thanks to a report from the Prado, the Spanish Ministry of Culture blocked the sale at the last minute, declaring it a non-exportable asset. The work was then subjected to a careful and in-depth analysis by various specialists, while the government of the Madrid region carried out the necessary procedures to have it declared an "asset of cultural interest", to thus guarantee its permanence in Spain. also for the future.
Parallel to the exhibition, for nine months, at the Prado, a publication was also released which reveals all the details of the "discovery", leading to the conclusion that "Ecce Home" is actually Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio's real name). A publication that brings together the major experts in the sector. Title of the extraordinary publication: “El Ecce Homo disvelado” (The Ecce Homo Revelead”).
The publication includes the specialist interpretation of the painting by Maria Cristina Terzaghi (University of Roma Tre and scientific committee of the Capodimonte Museum of Naples), by Gianni Papi (art historian and writer), by Joseph Porzio (University of Naples) and of Keith Christiansen (curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art), each of which analyzes different aspects of the work. Specifically: the circumstances of its discovery, the provenance and the stylistic, technical and iconographic aspects of the painting.
Furthermore, a nuclear engineer specialized in the application of scientific techniques to the study and conservation of cultural heritage, Claudio Falcucci, carried out "a profound diagnostic investigation" on the painting, while the specialist Andrea Cipriani and his team carried out the very careful restoration.
In the end, some of the most authoritative Caravaggio experts shared the same passionate certainty: “Ecce Home” was definitely painted by Caravaggio!
Michelangelo Merisi aka “Caravaggio”.
The new owner of the “Ecce Homo” painting has expressly asked to remain anonymous, but is believed to be a foreign citizen resident in Spain, who bought the painting from the Pérez de Castro Méndez family for around 30-35 million euros. More than 1.500 euros…
According to the Spanish news agency EFE, Jorge Coll, head of the Colnaghi Art Gallery, which took care of the painting during its restoration in recent months and collaborated on the agreement for its display, explained that the owner intends to always keep it on display to the public, even after the nine months on loan granted to Prado. Coll did not confirm the sales figures, however, but claims that the painting could have been worth over 100 million euros if it had not been declared an "asset of cultural interest", i.e. not salable abroad.
