In the context of this artwork, explore the Disputed attribution of the History.
The painting was first attributed to Caravaggio in 1954 by noted art historian and Caravaggio scholar Roberto Longhi and Marcenaro. Other scholars, such as Sebastian Schutze, dispute the attribution of this work to Caravaggio, with Schutze noting that "the composition seems extremely cramped, and its narrative structure strangely fractured. The Roman governor seems to belong to a quite different plane of reality; he appears like the donor figure in an altarpiece and is painted in a different manner, with his facial features exaggerated almost to the point of caricature." Other scholars, including Anna Orlando (the curator who oversaw its most recent restoration) and Lorenzo Pericolo, believe it to be a genuine Caravaggio.
Roberto Longhi Cara Caravaggio