Two works by the Baroque Italian artist Caravaggio, once thought to be copies but now seen as originals, were put on show for the first time in Scotland yesterday at the gallery of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew, painted in 1600-01, was, for many years, believed to be an almost worthless copy but recent academic study has decided it is in fact the original painting by the influential artist.
After cleaning tests in 2000, a number of Caravaggio experts were invited to view the work and the expert Sir Denis Mahon, among others, became convinced it was an original. It is now thought to be worth tens of millions of pounds.
The other painting is called Boy Peeling Fruit, from around 1592. It was also thought to be a copy of an original, but after cleaning was acknowledged by some experts to be the original.
The new exhibition at the Queen's Gallery, The Art of Italy, contains 31 paintings and 43 drawings.
Seventeenth-century Italian art first entered the British Royal Collection in the reign of Charles I, when the king purchased a substantial part of the collection of the Gonzaga Dukes of Mantua.
Although Charles I's collection was sold after his execution in 1649, a number of paintings were reclaimed or brought back by Charles II after the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.
The examples of drawing include compositional sketches, designs for altar pieces, frescoes, prints, sculpture and architecture, and finished works of art.
Most were acquired by George III in 1762 in two collections, of Consul Joseph Smith in Venice, and Cardinal Alessandro Albani in Rome.
The exhibition runs until March 8.
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