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  It took all of six minutes for Massimo Pulini to realise that the small oil painting due to go under the hammer in Madrid earlier this month with a guide price of €1,500 could be worth millions. At 9.48pm on March 24th, Pulini, a 63-year-old professor at Bologna Fine Arts Academy, received an email request for an evaluation. Sent by an antiques dealer and friend of Pulini’s, it included a photo of a luminous oil painting of the scourged Christ. At 9.54pm, Pulini sent a reply that would echo across the art world: “Damn! This is a Caravaggio! Where the hell did you find it?â...

‘Damn! This is a Caravaggio!’: the inside story of an old master found in Spain The 17th-century oil on canvas Crowning of Thorns, oroginally attributed to José de Ribera. Art dealer Giancarlo Ciaroni attempted to buy painting listed at €1,500 for €500,000 – but discovered bewildered owners already had two offers of €3m Fri 23 Apr 2021 01.00 EDT Last modified on Fri 23 Apr 2021 02.46 EDT It took all of six minutes for Massimo Pulini to realise that the small oil painting due to go under the hammer in Madrid earlier this month with a guide price of €1,500 ...

(The Guardian, approx 7 mins reading time) The email had come from Giancarlo Ciaroni, the owner of the prestigious Altomani Gallery in Milan and one of Italy’s best-known fine art dealers, who in turn had been passed the photo by an art dealer in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, who had spotted it in the Madrid auction house’s online catalogue. “For years I’ve had friendly relations with hundreds of collectors and fine art dealers,” Pulini said. “They send emails with photos of paintings, often without any text, as the request is implicit: establish a monetary value for ...