Dear Friends,

This is one of those most uncommon cases of a masterpiece "copy" actually being the original, where that which all believed to be the original actually was the copy.

Indeed, the opposite is a lot more usual in the world of the art of the great masters: many times, a bad copy or even a total scam has been credited by so-called experts with being an original.

Thanks for visiting,

Luis Miguel Goitizolo

Raphael painting found in store room

By Michael Day

Saturday, 8 May 2010

EPA The small portrait of a woman had lain discarded since the 1970s at the Ducal Palace in Sassuolo near Modena

A painting left to collect dust in a store room for more than 30 years is in fact a priceless work by Raphael, Italian art experts have said.

The small portrait of a woman had lain discarded since the 1970s at the Ducal Palace in Sassuolo near Modena, after experts declared it to be an unremarkable 17th-century copy of a lost painting from the Raphael School.

But a chance viewing of the work by Mario Scalini, interim arts superintendent for Modena and Reggio Emilia, led to a rethink. His suspicions were aroused by the painting's extravagant golden frame as well as its elegance. "What really got me on the right track was a close look at the frame, a superb 17th-century gallery frame." he said. "It would have been highly unusual to bestow such a prestigious frame on a work that was considered of little worth."

He recruited other authorities, including the leading restoration expert, Lisa Venerosi Pesciolini, to examine the portrait. With the use of infrared and ultraviolet analysis at the Art-Test laboratories in Florence, she was able to see how the painting's original form had been altered over the years.

The experts believe that the portrait, measuring just 30cm by 40cm, is the first version of the famous Madonna of the Pearl – detail above – in Madrid's Prado Gallery. They plan to put the so-called "Modenese pearl" on show in Siena.

See the article here: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/raphael-painting-found-in-store-room-1968242.html

Hi Luis
Here is another one is this the same person?karen gigikos

[edit] Summary

Description	The Holy Family of Francis I (Raphael)
Source	http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/r/raphael/5roma/5/01holyfa.html
Date	1518
Author	Raphael
Permission (Reusing this file)

Luis,

What a fantastic find.

She is beautiful and so typical an example of his work.

With modern techniques and technology it is more likely that the truth can be found about paintings like this.

Roger

Yes Karen, it is a Raphael, though parts of the painting very likely were made by his students as was usual at the time.

Quote:

Luis,

What a fantastic find.

She is beautiful and so typical an example of his work.

With modern techniques and technology it is more likely that the truth can be found about paintings like this.

Roger

Yes Roger, it is unmistakeably his. I think the hair may have been painted by one of his disciples, but the beauty of the girl's face, the general style, and the love that it transpires leaves no room for doubt about its being one of Raphael's most exquisite works.

Thanks for showing up and posting,

Luis Miguel Goitizolo