The Lost Caravaggio: the Ecce Homo Unveiled

In room 8A of the Villanueva building at the Prado Museum, members of the public can now see a special individual display of the work Ecce Homo by the Italian master Caravaggio. The painting will be exhibited from 28 May to 23 February 2025 thanks to the generosity of its new owner, who has loaned it to the museum for nine months.

Painted by the Italian artist around 1605-09 and part of the private collection of Philip IV of Spain, this painting is one of approximately 60 known works by the painter that still exist today, which makes it immensely valuable.

The Prado Museum informed the Spanish Ministry of Culture of the importance of the painting following its reappearance in the Ansorena auction house in April of 2021, at which time it was attributed to a student of José de Ribera. The painting was looked after by the Colnaghi art gallery, in collaboration with Filippo Benappi (Benappi Fine Art) and Andrea Lullo (Lullo Pampoulides) and has been restored by Andrea Cipriani and his team under the supervision of experts from Madrid’s Regional Government. The results of this careful process have been documented in a publication that will be available after the presentation of the painting, which brings together leading experts, featuring seminal essays by Christiansen, Papi, Porzio and Terzaghi, testimony to the monumental importance of the piece.

Ecce Homo is one of the greatest discoveries in the history of art, achieving an unprecedented consensus in terms of its authentication. Following a long investigation by Claudio Falcucci (nuclear engineer who specialises in the application of scientific techniques to the study and conservation of cultural heritage), a rigorous restoration and evaluation of the materials of the painting and its history of conservation was conducted, reaffirming the initial attribution to the Italian master.  

Image credits:

Ecce Homo. Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi, 1571-1610). Oil on canvas, 1606- 1609. Private collection.