Posted on 10/05/2010 11:27:53 PM PDT by BlackVeil
An unfinished painting of the Virgin Mary and Christ owned by a former American pilot has been hailed as a lost masterpiece by Michelangelo, says an Italian art historian and restorer in a new book.
Antonio Forcellino, who has worked on Michelangelo's masterpieces, first came across the pieta, a 63cm x 48cm oil painting on a panel made of fir, when he was contacted by email by its owner, said a report in The Australian.
If confirmed, the work will rank alongside only three surviving panel paintings by the Italian master, potentially making it worth more than the record $118 million so far achieved for a work of art.
"The first time I saw it, I was so struck by the strength of it that I felt breathless," said Mr Forcellino.
"Only a genius could have painted this - the darkness which underscores the suffering, the Virgin who looks as if she's screaming and the figure of Christ after he has been deposed from the cross. It's small, but the technique is extraordinary.
"It's definitely by Michelangelo, and I was lucky to find documents that prove it. The X-rays that have been done are the key.
"They reveal his changes of mind; he moved the face of Christ, covered up grass to the left of the Virgin, and left an area next to her right leg unfinished. It couldn't possibly be a copy by another artist."
In a new book out in Italy, La Pieta Perduta (The Lost Pieta), which will be published in Britain next year, Mr Forcellino argues that the painting was created in 1545 by Michelangelo.
LOL, museum curators around the world have to take valium after they read that.
That is sure vague. I just watched the DVD "The Rape of Europa" tonight, about the industrial sized theft of art by the Nazis and Soviets, also with a lot of coverage of what was lost in the bombings and fires.
I highly recommend it, it is amazing to see the worlds great masterpieces being handled and put into army trucks, laying on floors where they were tossed, and so on.
I do like his works. I consider the sistine chapel ceiling to be the greatest work of art in world. His sculpture of David at the Academia in Florence easily the greatest of that medium.
His sculptures are better executed than his paintings; the sheer age and history of such a painting is enough to make the tennis ball anecdote a little nerve-wracking even to those of us who prefer other Renaissance maestros.
They should have taken it to Antiques Roadshow!
“They should have taken it to Antiques Roadshow!”
Or Pawn Stars.
I see what you are saying - and that is an excellent insight. I did not ask myself about how that painting turned up where it did, but now that you mention it ... it has a real postWW2 ring to it.
I shall get hold of a copy of that documentary, if I can.
I also recommend a novel by Douglas Boyd, "The Fiddler and the Ferret". It is a thriller written by an historian of WW2 France, and the plot makes a lot of allegations about how art works stolen by the Nazis ended up in other hands. Fiction of course ... but interesting to read, and possibly based on fact.
Go on line and see if your library has the DVD to check out, or get them to order it from one of the other branches, it is usually a free library service.
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Another good book is “ The Forger’s Spell” by Edward Dolnick-true story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the greatest hoax of the 20th century.
Fast and fascinating read. Dolnick references “The Rape of Europa”.
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