Monte Carlo, MONACO (OTE) – During a scholarly symposium in Monte
Carlo on May 16, a team of
Italian art historians led by Dr. Roberta Lapucci, Conservation
Professor and Department Head at Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici in
Florence, presented research concerning the painting Archimedes (1608
–1610).
Video: https://youtu.be/1DzUfnZCoIc
Dr. Roberta Lapucci’s research suggests Caravaggio employed
photographic-like techniques long before photography’s invention,
explaining the extraordinary precision, realism, and lack of
preliminary sketches in his works. Dr. Lapucci, Conservation
Professor and Department Head at Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici in
Florence, catalogued and conserved numerous Florentine artworks.
The experts argued that the Archimedes was largely painted by
Caravaggio and completed by his student and friend Mario Minniti
during Caravaggio’s stay in Syracuse. According to the researchers,
collaborative completion of paintings was a practice frequently
employed within Caravaggio’s circle between 1605 and 1610.
The privately owned painting had not previously been publicly
exhibited. It was shown for the first time to a private audience
during the scholarly symposium in Monaco. Co-organizer Katharina
Rubin emphasized its value as one of the most fascinating newly
rediscovered paintings connected with this historical period.
During the authentication process, the work underwent
comprehensive testing, including X-ray and hyperspectral imaging, EDS
paint analysis, infrared, ultraviolet, and XRF analysis, as well as
digital microscopy.
Based on these results, Dr. Lapucci prepared a technical report
and an art-historical analysis confirming Caravaggio’s authorship for
the initial painted layers.
Dr. Alessandra Gregori provided additional confirmation and a
valuation, while Professor Hassan Ugail of the University of Bradford
conducted an AI deep learning algorithm analysis.
The findings and artistic context were presented by Dr. Lapucci,
Dr. Fabio Scaletti, and Dr. Barbara Savina at the symposium, which
was moderated by Dr. Gregori.
The 75-by-61-centimeter oil painting depicts Archimedes and
features a compass and convex mirror, attributes associated with the
Greek philosopher and mathematician.
Dr. Lapucci, author of „Caravaggio and Optics”, noted that
concave and convex mirrors were used by Archimedes to defend Syracuse
against Roman attacks and were also closely connected with
Caravaggio’s naturalistic optical methods. She further explored the
hypothesis that the artist employed an early form of the camera
obscura.
Archimedes is closely associated with Syracuse, where Caravaggio,
fleeing a death sentence for murder in 1608, found refuge with
Minniti.
While there, Caravaggio met Vincenzo Mirabella, who was building
a telescope associated with Galileo and who showed him archaeological
findings near Archimedes’ tomb.
Dr. Lapucci noted this must have led to the creation of a
portrait of Archimedes, a figure devoted to optics and closely
associated with Syracuse.
Additionally, specialized radiographic (X-ray) examinations
revealed an underlying image depicting the face of Medusa within the
spherical object, alongside quartz particles characteristic of
Caravaggio’s technique within the paint layer and hidden numerical
markings beneath the surface, constituting a significant point of
reference for comparative and technical research.
Her final assessment is that Caravaggio sketched and applied the
first layers, and Minniti completed the work. This is evidenced by
the very high quality of the final layer, which is lower than
Caravaggio’s but significantly higher than that of Sicilian artists
of the time.
Source: PAP MediaRoom