There's another copy of the same painting techniques in Dublin’s National Gallery of Ireland. It too is thought to be in Caravaggio’s hand, but it’s hard to say.Barely reported here in the U.S., a version of Caravaggio’s 17th century masterpiece, the Taking of Christ (Judas’ Kiss) was stolen in the Museum of Western and Eastern Art in Odessa, Ukraine on August 1, 2008 and has been recently uncovered at a Moscow online auction at the time of March 16, 2010.
The dramatic painting dating back to 1602 from the Italian Baroque master, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, depicts Judas embracing Our Lord and betraying Him having a kiss inside the Garden of Gethsemane, a very apropos theme as we commemorate these events during this most Holy Week. The National Gallery of Art has a great analysis of the art painting techniques, if you're interested in learning much more about it.
Staff in the Museum of Western and Eastern Art inside the Black Sea port of Odessa discovered the painting, known as the Taking of Christ, or even the Kiss of Judas, missing, cut looking at the frame, August 1, 2008
In 2008, Reuters reported the thieves “entered by way of a window, bypassing an outdated alarm system by removing a pane of glass as opposed to breaking it. Then they escaped across the museum’s roof.” At the period Vitaly Abramov, the deputy head of a second museum within the city, the Odessa Art Museum called the theft “a cultural catastrophe, a national tragedy”.
A few weeks ago the painting was discovered as a result of an anonymous letter that Vladimir Ostrovsky, the Director from the museum received suggesting that the stolen artwork was to be present in an online auction for $2 million.
Vladimir Ostrovsky told the Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (UNIAN) he “got frightened” when he saw an image of “The Taking of Christ”, as well as an announcement stating that it had been available for sale for a mere $2 million.
According to Ostrovsky, the price is ridiculous. Art experts estimate the Caravaggio piece to get along with $100 million.
Ostrovsky asserted, although he was unsure be it the stolen item under consideration or simply a duplicate, he immediately informed the Ukrainian law-enforcement authorities regarding it.
Another version of the same work of art is housed at the National Gallery of Ireland. It also had a history of disappearing. Its whereabouts remained unknown for Two centuries until it had been discovered in 1990 on the Society of Jesus residence in Dublin, Ireland.
Source: stmichaelsociety.com
No comments:
Post a Comment