OLD MASTER FAKED
Discovery In Vatican
(Rec. 10 p.m.) VATICAN CITY, July 4.
One of the most famous paintings in the Vatican, the “Mystic Wedding of St. Catherine.** attributed to Murillo, has been found to be a fake, Vatican officials said today. The painting was regarded as one of the 17th century Spanish painter’s masterpieces. It was given to Pope Pius IX In the mid19th century by Queen Christina of Spain and had a place of honour in the Vatican's picture gallery, where tens of thousands of pilgrims admired It Recently, officials said, the painting was taken to the Vatican laboratories for a cleaning to remove a yellowish taint
During the eleaning another painting, only partly completed, showing a landscape with figure, appeared underneath.
Officials said expert study revealed that this painting had been exposed to the air for at least 100 years before being painted over.
The age of the covered painting was pinpointed to about 1600. As Murillo died in 1682 after several years of inactivity, the fake was probably done two decades after his death by someone who mastered his technique with “astonishing skill," the officials added.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28939, 6 July 1959, Page 11
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190OLD MASTER FAKED Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28939, 6 July 1959, Page 11
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