The work displayed at the Pinacoteca of Bettona
Hypotesis on El Greco pop-up from a tabernacle in Umbria
Il tabernacolo della Pinacoteca di Bettona, forse opera di El Greco
E. Bramati
28/03/2014
Perugia - While the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of El Greco are going on in Toledo and all around Spain, also Italy is talking much about the great artist from the island of Crete.
It seems that a tabernacle created by his hand is displayed at the Pinacoteca of Bettona, near Perugia.
This hypothesis was introduced few days ago from Guerrino Lovato, scholar and artist from Venice, and regards the work titled "Christ and the four Evangelists". It could be commissioned by Vincenzo Anastagi, a knight from the order of Malta. It is known that El Greco portrayed him on a canvas, which is now part of the Frick Collection in New York.
The work in Bettona is a oil on board and golden wood decorated in a technique that requires a layer of chalk. It consists of five panels, one for each character.
According to Lovato, a partial restoration and cleaning removed later applications of paint, revealing the typical trait of the artist.
The cultural official in Bettona, Paola Pasinato, confirmed that also Prof. Lionello Puppi, in charge of an exhibition that will take place in Paris in 2015, took a second look to the tabernacle, and is now interested to include it in the italian calendar of events for the anniversary.
However, the small treasure of Bettona is not the only work by El Greco whose authorship is controversial. Some doubts had been raised for the well-known "Lady of the Fur" from the Glasgow Museum, which apparently was painted almost 300 hundred years after his death.
It seems that a tabernacle created by his hand is displayed at the Pinacoteca of Bettona, near Perugia.
This hypothesis was introduced few days ago from Guerrino Lovato, scholar and artist from Venice, and regards the work titled "Christ and the four Evangelists". It could be commissioned by Vincenzo Anastagi, a knight from the order of Malta. It is known that El Greco portrayed him on a canvas, which is now part of the Frick Collection in New York.
The work in Bettona is a oil on board and golden wood decorated in a technique that requires a layer of chalk. It consists of five panels, one for each character.
According to Lovato, a partial restoration and cleaning removed later applications of paint, revealing the typical trait of the artist.
The cultural official in Bettona, Paola Pasinato, confirmed that also Prof. Lionello Puppi, in charge of an exhibition that will take place in Paris in 2015, took a second look to the tabernacle, and is now interested to include it in the italian calendar of events for the anniversary.
However, the small treasure of Bettona is not the only work by El Greco whose authorship is controversial. Some doubts had been raised for the well-known "Lady of the Fur" from the Glasgow Museum, which apparently was painted almost 300 hundred years after his death.
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