I KNEW IT! Vatican Reverses Itself, "The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence" Not a Caravaggio

FROM ART DAILY - 26 JULY 2010

VATICAN CITY (AP).-The Vatican's top art historian on Monday shot down a report in its own newspaper that suggested a recently discovered painting was a Caravaggio.

The head of the Vatican Museums, Antonio Paolucci, wrote in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that the work was most likely a copy of an original by a Caravaggio-influence artist.

It was L'Osservatore itself that set the art world aflutter last week with a front-page article headlined "A New Caravaggio," detailing the artistry behind the "Martyrdom of St. Lawrence," which had been discovered in the sacristy of a Jesuit church in Rome.

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400 Years After His Death, Caravaggio Work Is Found

The martyrdom of St Lawrence in a newly discovered painting thought to be by Caravaggio

From The Independent (UK) by Michael Day in Milan, Monday, 19 July 2010

Art experts in Rome are analysing what they believe is a previously unknown painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio.

As his homeland marked the 400th anniversary of his death this weekend, the Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano published the newly discovered work on its front page. Depicting the martyrdom of St Lawrence, it was found recently among the possessions of the Society of Jesuits in Rome. It shows a semi-naked young man, his mouth open in desperation with one arm stretched out as he leans over flames. If the suspected provenance is confirmed, it would be the first painting by the Baroque genius to emerge since The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew, which went on display two years ago.

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It's impossible to evaluate whether or not this is a genuine Caravaggio without seeing the original painting, reviewing the testing done on the work, reading the scholarship devoted to the painting, and analyzing any other documentation related to the provenance of the work. My gut reaction is that I do not find the photograph at all convincing. To my eyes, this appears to be the work of a follower of Caravaggio, rather than by the artist himself. The lighting and tone transitions are harsh and imitative. Caravaggio was a master of subtle lighting and of tenebrism (a style he developed). Nevertheless, this painting is an exciting discovery.