Focus on this artwork and explain the Madrid Ecce Homo.
The Caravaggio Ecce Homo was reported by near contemporaries, such as Giovanni Bellori in his Lives of the Artists, to have been taken to Spain. In April 2021 a minor work believed to be from the circle of a Spanish follower of Caravaggio, Jusepe de Ribera, was withdrawn from sale at the Madrid auction house Ansorena. The painting had been brought to Ansorena by three Spanish siblings who had inherited it from their father, Antonio Pérez de Castro. Pérez de Castro was the founder of the IADE school of design and fashion in Madrid and had reportedly received the painting in the 1970s as part of a family inheritance. The painting has been in the possession of the family since 1823, when it was exchanged for another work from the Real Academia of San Fernando, where it had been listed as “Ecce-Hommo con dos saiones de Carabaggio”. This attribution was later lost or changed to Ribera or his circle. The Museo del Prado alerted the Ministry of Culture, which placed a preemptive export ban on the painting leading to its withdrawal from the auction. Stylistic evidence, as well as the similarity of the models to those in other Caravaggio works, has convinced some experts that the painting is the original Caravaggio work for the 1605 Massimo Massimi commission. Colnaghis will be restoring the painting and the gallery will be handling the future sale of the work. Some Caravaggio experts, such as Maria Cristina Terzaghi, believe the 111 centimetres (44 in) by 86 centimetres (34 in) painting to be by Caravaggio, citing its similarity in style and technique to known autograph works. While others, including Nicola Spinosa, have expressed skepticism over the attribution.
Massimo Massimi Museo del Prado Cara Ministry of Culture Jusepe de Ribera Lives of the Artists Giovanni Bellori Caravaggio Colnaghi Real Academia of San Fernando Ecce Homo