Entertainment · Books & Arts · 5 hrs ago
Lost Caravaggio painting found in a Paris gallery
Art historian Maria Cristina Terzaghi has identified a lost Caravaggio painting in the back room of a Paris gallery.
The work, called *Young Man with a Vase of Roses*, dates to 1596 or 1597, when Caravaggio was about 25 and had recently arrived in Rome.
Records trace the painting from a Roman collection to Paris, where it was sold at auction in 1909 as the work of an unknown Italian artist.
Its current owner’s ancestor bought it, and the family did not know its significance.
The painting’s reflections may include a self-portrait, though that identification is uncertain.
Four known copies had shown that the work existed, but Terzaghi says the newly identified original is of higher quality.
France may protect the painting as a national treasure, and the Louvre is one possible home if the state seeks to acquire it; when it might go on public display remains unclear.
Art historian Maria Cristina Terzaghi has identified a long-lost painting attributed to Caravaggio in the back room of a Paris gallery.
The painting, titled *Giovane con caraffa di rose* (Young Man with a Vase of Roses), is dated to 1596–1597.
Terzaghi found it three years ago and made the discovery public in an article in Italy.
The painting was documented in the collection of the Galleria Borghese in Rome before it was sold and reached Paris in the early 20th century.
Its future is uncertain, and the article says France may declare it a national treasure and consider acquiring it.
- Who
- Art historian Maria Cristina Terzaghi identified the painting; it is attributed to Caravaggio.
- What
- A long-lost painting, *Giovane con caraffa di rose* (Young Man with a Vase of Roses), was found.
- When
- Terzaghi found it three years before making the discovery public.
- Where
- In the back room of a Paris gallery.
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The painting is dated to this period, early in Caravaggio’s career.
The painting was listed among the property of Giuseppe Cesari d’Arpino.
The painting was recorded in the Galleria Borghese.
The painting was documented among the Galleria Borghese’s holdings at least until this year.
The widow of a Paris bookseller sold the painting at auction as the work of an anonymous Italian artist.
Terzaghi found the painting in the back room of a Paris gallery.
- Title
- *Giovane con caraffa di rose* (Young Man with a Vase of Roses)
- Attributed artist
- Caravaggio
- Date of painting
- 1596–1597
- Discoverer
- Maria Cristina Terzaghi
- Discovery location
- Back room of a Paris gallery
- Known copies
- Four
What people are saying
I found myself in front of this magnificent Young Man with a Vase of Roses on a gray winter day, in the back room of a Parisian gallery
very high quality
He painted a vase of flowers with the transparencies of the water and the glass, and with the reflections of the window of a room, with the flowers sprinkled with the freshest dew