Italy: A Work by Botticelli “Found”

The painting of a Madonna and Child by the painter Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) recently “reappeared” in Italy. In poor condition, this work estimated at 100 million euros will be restored before being displayed in a museum in Naples, the newspaper La Repubblica reported.

The painting La Madonna delle Grazie  (1470) originally belonged to Pope Sixtus IV (1471-1484). It has since been for several decades in possession of an Italian family who kept it in a house near Naples.

However, the work had not been inspected for 50 years by the Service for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, which apparently became aware of it during a check of the nationarl art registers. In fact, individuals who possess artistic treasures of great public interest in Italy must make sure that they are preserved in an adequate manner.

And the authorities regularly check the existence and condition of these works. According to La Repubblica, the painting is in poor condition, with peeling and flakes in the paint, abrasions and changes in color.

It was handed over to the Italian inspection of Cultural Affairs, which will carry out an assessment, then a restoration which could last a year. In the future, it will likely be displayed in a museum. Botticelli would have created this work for Pope Sixtus IV.

The latter, having experienced financial difficulties, had offered the painting to the Medici family in order to obtain “the economic support of the powerful family” and to finance the completion of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, the art historian Peppe di Massa explains for La Repubblica. 

Since this latest inspection, the cultural heritage unit of the Italian police, under the direction of Massimiliano Croce, is now investigating the circumstances of the ownership of the painting. It is a matter of determining if the family who kept the painting at their residence permanently acquired it legally. If the family’s owenership proves to be illegitimate, the Italian State could claim the work of art.

And if the family’s ownership is judged to be lawful, they will be able to keep the painting, on the condition that it be displayed in a museum for greater protection and a legitimate visibility. Italy’s strict regulations concerning the private ownership of culturally significant works of art require approriate security and preservation, checked by regular State inspections.