Also available in: Italian
The famous oil painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s “Boy Peeling Fruit” was the resounding flop of the last auction in progress in New York.
The well-known painting was created during the first activity of Caravaggio in Rome and has a history that is still enigmatic. It is possible that the work was done while staying with Monsignor Pandolfo Pucci at Palazzo Colonna, but it is likely also the fact that the painting is the result of the period of collaboration with the Cavalier d’Arpino, Giuseppe Cesari. In 1607 in his shop, the tax of Pope Paul V Borghese seized several works, including the famous painting that her later gave to his nephew Scipione Borghese.
The doubts on the attribution of the painting to Caravaggio are still wide open because among scholars there is no convergence of views or concord. There is no documentation that is prior to the 1700s and the judgment of authenticity has not been affirmed or denied almost solely on the basis of style. That being the case was that the concerns pathological re-emergence among the potential buyers.
Christie’s estimated to be able to sell the work for 3-5 million dollars and was nominated as the more interesting masterpiece appointment for Old Master Paintings.
It remained unsold unfortunately, probably due to the uncertainty of the attribution.
To aggravate the situation further, 33 lots remained unsold.
Artnet has in fact described the event as “the worst result for an Old Master auction since 2002”.
Comments by Ivan Allegranti