­­­­The “Judith”: The Jury is Still Out

«What is a genuine work by the artist?» asked art historian Olivier Bonfait at the round table on 9 January concluding the symposium «Caravaggio, a Baroque Life: New Perspectives and Reflections on the Roman Years», organised by the Italian Institute in Paris. The recent media stir around the «Turquin» painting could affect its fate. For example, if the work comes up for sale, a potential buyer might be tempted to purchase it in a hurry for fear of competing with a host of other aspiring owners in an auction room. Mr Turquin says «no decision will be made before late February and the end of the restoration,» which is being carried out by the renowned Laurence Baron-Callegari. The Finson Hypothesis Although Ms Baron-Callegari is taking a light-handed approach to the restoration, it has already had a significant impact, especially on the interpretation of how the painting was made. «The artist used the grey-brown…