The Queen’s Caravaggio
The British Royal Collection of art pieces has just seen its value increase by millions. A canvas by Caravaggio has been recently identified after it had been in the collection for hundreds of years.
The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew, owned by the Royal Family for almost 400 years, has lain unloved and seldom seen in a storeroom at Hampton Court for decades. Misattributed as a copy of a Caravaggio by an unknown hand, it was valued in thousands rather than millions.
The Royal Collection, whose experts have cleaned, restored and studied the picture for six years, declared yesterday that it is authentic and one of only around 50 surviving canvases by the Italian master. “I am convinced it is by Caravaggio,” Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, said. “We are extremely excited, it’s the most important discovery in the collection in the last decade.”
The painting was bought by Charles I in 1637 and after being sold with most of the Royal Collection during the Commonwealth, it was re-acquired by Charles II.
The price of the painting? About 50 million pounds or more. But of course, Her Majesty can’t and won’t sell it, since the Royal Collection isn’t owned by the Royal Family but simply held in trust for England.
via The Telegraph
Tags: royalty, British royalty, British royals, Royal Collection, Caravaggio
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POSTED IN: British Royalty
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The Merry Royals » The Merry Royals in November ‘06
Nov 30, 2006 at 9:53 pm
[…] The British royal family was in the news almost everyday this month. The Royal Art collection got a boost with the identification of a Caravaggio. Members of the family celebrated Remembrance Day with the rest of the nation. Despite a bad back, The Queen was still able to open State Parliament, treating us to lots of photos of the pomp involved. She and Prince Philip met the cast of the new James Bond movie “Casino Royale”. An announcement was made this month of their visit to the U.S. next year. […]
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