Ecce Homo, which is the scene in the Gospels when Pontius Pilate presents the martyred Christ to an angry crowd, has been interpreted by artists repeatedly for centuries. In April 2021, a Spanish auction house offered an Ecce Homo painting for auction that was then attributed to a painter from Juan de Ribera's circle, with bids starting at €1,500.
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However, some experts at the Museo del Prado saw the painting as something much more spectacular, namely a work by Caravaggio himself, whose dramatic chiaroscuro style left a lasting impression on many of his colleagues and successors, including Juan de Ribera. Only about 60 of Caravaggio's paintings are known today, so an expansion of his oeuvre would be significant. The painting was then withdrawn from the auction.
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The next steps were carried out under the supervision of the experts from the Comunidad de Madrid. After an intensive diagnostic examination, the restoration was completed by specialist Andrea Cipriani. The final attribution to the master was made by the leading Caravaggio experts Maria Cristina Terzaghi (Associate Professor of Modern Art History at the University of Roma Tre and member of the scientific committee of the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples), Gianni Papi (art historian and author), Giuseppe Porzio (Professor of Art History at the University of Naples) and Keith Christiansen (Curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Caravaggio is believed to have worked on the painting around 1605-09. The painting is also said to have once been part of the collection of the Spanish King Philip IV.
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Before the canceled auction in April 2021, the painting had been owned by the same family since the 19th century, who did not know about its provenance. Once the painting was identified as a work by Caravaggio, the family received permission from the Madrid government to sell the painting. It was sold privately to an anonymous buyer and the sale price was not made public.
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Ecce Homo is not the only painting that has been discovered as a work by Caravaggio in recent years. In 2014, a painting showing Judith beheading Holofernes was uncovered in an attic in Toulouse. After being attributed to Caravaggio, its value was estimated at €100-150 million. The auction was scheduled for June 2019, but did not take place because the work was sold in advance. Again, the amount was not disclosed.
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Now, Ecce Homo will be presented in an unprecedented solo exhibition at the Museo del Prado beginning on May 28, 2024 and will be accompanied by a comprehensive publication. After this exhibition ends in October 2024, the masterpiece will be on display in the museum's permanent collection for another four months.
