From Rome to Madrid in search of a Caravaggio
A portrait of the Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Image: Ottavio Leoni.
by Mathieu Gorse
(AFP)
.- The moment she saw it, Maria Cristina Terzaghi was convinced: the 17th-century canvas was definitely a Caravaggio, so she raced from Rome to Madrid to help authenticate the lost Renaissance masterpiece.
The painting had been due to go under the hammer on Thursday with a starting price of just 1,500 euros until it was abruptly withdrawn from auction by Spain's government on suspicion it was actually painted by Caravaggio.
Sitting in a cafe in the Spanish capital, this Italian art history specialist told AFP what caused her to jump on a plane from Rome to Madrid for what she's dubbed "Operation Caravaggio".