by Alessandro Fulloni and Giulia Mietta
The Carabinieri flashed in the exhibition halls. Bought by a Genoese family for 300,000 euros as property of the Flemish school and then authenticated in Prague. millionaire quote. After X-ray and restoration, a second Madonna appears
Without wanting to – or maybe yes, it’s still not clear – the owners of the Rubens were seized at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa on Friday and were under investigation for money laundering and illegal export, although they have opened an issue that is not only intended for that , to inspire those who follow the art, albeit from a distance. Only thanks to the restoration commissioned by the two collectors who bought the painting in 2012 – who were being investigated along with an accountant and his son, their accomplices in the fraudulent moves aimed at removing the painting from ours Pushing boundaries – experienced the “remorse” caused by the painter, flames appear in front of his canvas. The “before” of his canvas on oil – 184.5 by 150 centimeters – shows only portraits of a Madonna to the left of Jesus, who looks at her from the right. Scene that Rubens must not have been entirely convinced of. So much so that another Madonna, positioned between the previous two figures but then covered for who knows why, whether immediately or later is not known.
Exactly: In art, it is “repentance”, that rethinking during work that a painter or sculptor carries out and covers up what came before, which was perceived as unsatisfactory for a wide variety of reasons. Confirmation of the Fleming’s about-face is not only a legal source, but also the description of the painting provided by the Palazzo Ducale. The owners – a Sardinian and a Tuscan, apparently versed in the mysteries of the art – have arranged for an X-ray, which is usually the first diagnostic step, allowing you to see if there’s anything beneath what’s visible on the surface . Then, in 2015, a restorer in Italy removed the top layers of the painting, revealing the second Madonna figure, which was on view at the Palazzo Ducale in the exhibition dedicated to Rubens and which was already enjoying enormous public success before the confiscation.
Immediately, already in October, at the inauguration, the discovery of the “pentimento” in the work exhibited in the world preview had sparked the debate: right or not, with a view to future exhibitions, to cover the second Madonna that brings the painting back the desired perspective by Rubens? “Doubts that certainly do not affect our investigation,” interrupts, albeit amused and interested, a carabiniere from the Genoa Heritage Protection Department, who was in charge of the investigation. In the records of the investigation coordinated by prosecutor Eugenia Menichetti and entrusted to Arma investigators led by Alessandro Caprio, there are forged documents, shell companies set up in Eastern Europe, bogus sales. And millionaire listings that will rise dramatically. The scam, of which Palazzo Ducale is the victim, must be said clearly, after he also “actively collaborated in the investigation”, took shape in 2012 when the heirs of a noble family from Genoa decided to put up the Flemish masterpiece for sale.
But at this point it is appropriate to take a big step back to the years between 1600 and 1608, those of Rubens’ stay in Italy. When he settled there for a long time, the painter’s love for La Superba was love at first sight. Between Carruggi and Creuze, the Flemish paints everything from portraits of local nobility to altarpieces. Sources testify to the “Risen Christ” in Genoa in 1818, then he passed two Cambiaso residences including the Palazzo Pitto, part of the Rolli circuit (historical palaces destined to receive kings, emperors and popes, among others , and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO). The heirs had tried to sell the painting, knowing full well that it was a Rubens, without success at first. In 2012 they managed to “place” it on the two collectors examined, “satisfying” themselves with 350,000 euros. The new owners left the painting in Italy, falsely declaring to the Pisa Superintendency’s Export Office that it was by an anonymous Flemish artist and had a value of 25,000 euros.
With the help of an accountant and his son, the painting, now officially attributed to Rubens after a series of transfers to foreign companies, was loaned for the exhibition following expert opinions entrusted to the best experts in Belgium, also unrelated to the investigation , after insuring him for a value of four million. The exhibition in Genoa would have dedicated the work to the world and helped to dramatically increase the value of The Risen Christ Appearing to His Mother in view of planned subsequent exhibitions in Northern Europe. Anna Orlando, curator of the exhibition, explains: “It is not the painting that is examined, but the events that affected it, changes of ownership that go back many years when the work was unknown to everyone. But we have to be very clear that we are not talking about a fake. The work is authentic and has been displayed with all care and explanations in a sector of the exhibition where we have decided to display it as a Rubens work and workshop and there is a whole wall explaining the reason for this decision that includes more structures and more scholars».
Of the Palazzo Ducale, the venue of the exhibition, they speak of a “complete and absolute collaboration with the Carabinieri” and repeat how the request for the loan of the work was made in full compliance with the regulations in force: “And it could not be otherwise, given the role considering that the Foundation does not only carry out at the municipal level », are the words of the director Serena Bertolucci. But now? While the exhibition remains very popular, Rubens’ Christ remains under confiscation, for now it is impossible to admire its lights and colors. The appeal of the Palazzo Ducale is to order the release from the confiscation before the end of the exhibition scheduled for February 5. But will “repentance” be covered again the way Rubens wanted it? Nobody gets upset. We will see.
January 1, 2023 (change January 1, 2023 | 07:37)
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