The 10 most interesting art-historical discoveries of 2023

What were the most interesting historical and artistic discoveries of 2023? There was no shortage of surprises this year as well, and as is now tradition, we have selected the ten most relevant news stories in our opinion from the year that has just passed, which we offer below in chronological order.

1. England, a drawing attributed to Michelangelo, possibly for the Sistine Chapel (February)

In February, British art historian Paul Joannides, a specialist in Renaissance drawing with monographs and studies of drawings by artists such as Raphael and Michelangelo to his credit, announced that he had discovered what he believes is a rare preparatory drawing for the vault of the Sistine Chapel. It is a sheet drawn in sanguine that depicts a nude man, seen from behind: according to Joannides, it was executed in preparation for the creation of the fresco with the Bronze Serpent. Specifically, it would be a study for the figure of the nude man seen from behind, slightly rotated from the figure in the drawing, in the right portion of the fresco. Read the full story here.

2. A Romanino work in a private collection (April)

Romanino’s (Girolamo Romani; Brescia, c. 1485 - c. 1566) catalog has been enriched with a new work, for a “resounding addition,” as stated by the Bertolami auction house at which it went on sale. The painting, a Deposition of Christ in the Tomb, has been recognized as a work by Romanino by two specialists who studied it independently-Alessandro Nova and Francesco Frangi-an “unpublished masterpiece,” the auction house states. “The impressive unpublished painting,” reads the auction catalog entry, “represents a resounding addition to Girolamo Romanino’s corpus, as Prof. Alessandro Nova and Prof. Francesco Frangi independently noted after live analysis of the canvas. Indeed, the work shows itself as a pinnacle in the painter’s entire output in terms of emotional intensity and tragic pathos.” Read the full story here.

3. Bagnara di Romagna, an unpublished sculpture by Alfonso Lombardi (April)

Important discovery in April in Romagna: in Bagnara di Romagna (Ravenna), an antiquarian has in fact found an unpublished sculpture by Alfonso Lombardi (Ferrara, c. 1497-Bologna, 1537), the leading 16th-century sculptor in Ferrara, also known as “Alfonso Cittadella” or “Alfonso da Ferrara,” whom a legend widespread in the19th century has it that he was also praised by Michelangelo (according to whom he was “marvelous in his work that the earth trembled under his hands in obedience”), criticized and praised by Giorgio Vasari, who did not appreciate him on a human level because of his temperament judged frivolous and vain, but admired his works. Read the full story here.

4. Rome, two fragments of a large fresco by Ludovico David (May)

Important discovery in May at the Command of the Carabinieri Legion “Lazio” in Piazza del Popolo in Rome. In fact, it was ascertained that two portions of a fresco, whose author and provenance were unknown, which were kept at the end of the first ramp of the monumental staircase of the “Giacomo Acqua” Barracks, which is the headquarters of the Command, are part of a large painting by Ludovico David (Lugano, 1648 - Rome, post 1709) from the Collegio Clementino. The paintings were well preserved when finished but will be restored, and the work will begin these days. Read the full story here.

5. England, a work attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi in the Royal Collection’s storerooms (September)

According to art historians at the Royal Collection Trust, a painting that was recently rediscovered in the collection’s storerooms, and which has hitherto been known to have been misattributed, is said to be by Artemisia Gentileschi. The painting, depicting Susanna and the Vecchions, was rediscovered as a result of the outcome of work by curators at the Royal Collection Trust, particularly former staff member and art historian Niko Munz, to trace paintings sold and scattered throughout Europe after the execution of King Charles I of England. Read the full story here.

6. A drawing by Raphael for the Vatican Rooms.

An important drawing by Raphael (Urbino, 1483 - Rome, 1520) was rediscovered in September: it is a study for the scene of the Battle of Ponte Milvio painted in the Vatican Stanze, specifically in the Hall of Constantine. It was auctioned on October 25 by Dorotheum, which sold it for 338,000 euros. Read the full story here.

7. Verucchio, some important 14th-century frescoes from Rimini.

Unveiled in October in Verucchio, Rimini, are 14th-century frescoes that were discovered two years ago in the church of Santa Croce in Villa Verucchio, attributed to Pietro da Rimini (Rimini, documented between 1324 and 1338) and his workshop. The discovery dates back to 2021, when Friar Frederick, of the Order of Friars Minor of Verucchio, was doing some maintenance work above the wooden choir and, intrigued by a crack between the choir and the wall, decided to open the camera of his smartphone and lower the phone with a wire right into the crack. He thus managed to capture an image of an ancient medieval painting of Christ in Pieta, painted in a niche. This is an important find in the field of fourteenth-century Rimini painting, as well as medieval painting in general, which led to the discovery of a decorative apparatus of great importance and excellent workmanship. Read the full story here.

8. A Rembrandt painting that went to auction two years ago for only 10 thousand euros (Oct.)

Attributed to Rembrandt is the Adoration of the Magi that went up for auction on October 6, 2021 at Christie’s as a “Rembrandt circle” and with an estimate of 10-15 thousand euros (potential buyers realized that it could perhaps be an autograph work by the Dutch seventeenth-century master and thus fought to buy it: in the end, the hammer of the beater awarded the work to the tune of as much as 860 thousand euros). Christie’s clients were right on the money: after long study by Rembrandt experts, Sotheby’s came to the conclusion that this is a work by Rembrandt that has been neglected for more than seventy years. It actually appeared on the market in the early 1950s, after which it was purchased by Dutch art collector Johannes Carel Hendrik Heldring in Amsterdam in 1955. After his death in 1962, his widow in 1985 sold the work to a German family, which retained possession of it until the decision to sell it at Christie’s two years ago. On December 6, Sotheby’s sold the work for an impressive $14 million. Read the full story here.

9. France, two tablets by Pietro Lorenzetti (Nov.)

The French auction house Tajan announced in late November that it had rediscovered two important works by Pietro Lorenzetti (Siena, c. 1280 - 1348): these are two poplar wood tablets, depicting St. Sylvester and St. Helena, from the former Ramé Collection. They were purchased in Paris in 1860 by magistrate François-Alfred Ramé (1826-1886), who had a strong passion for archaeology and history (his archives were later donated to the Archaeological Museum of Rennes). Preserved by his descendants, who had already sold part of their collection to Tajan in 1985, these two paintings were rediscovered by Cabinet Turquin, Eric Turquin’s art-history consulting firm. These two works by the great Sienese painter were probably part of a large altarpiece consisting of five or seven panels, which was later cut down, like most works of this type. The two panels were sold separately on December 13: 3 million for the St. Sylvester and 1.6 million for the St. Helena (against an estimate of 1.5-2 and 400-600 thousand euros). They will go to enrich the collection of an American collector of contemporary art. Read the full story here.

10. Florence, a rare painting by Baccio Bandinelli believed lost (Dec.)

A rare unpublished painting by Baccio Bandinelli (Florence, 1493 - 1560), thought to have been lost, has come to light again: it was found in the storerooms of the Vatican Museums, and after restoration is being exhibited for the first time in Florence, at the Uffizi. The painting is a Pietà, with the Virgin, an angel and Nicodemus, which until February 25 is the protagonist of the exhibition Baccio Bandinelli painter, the result of the collaboration between the Uffizi Galleries and the Vatican Museums (theexhibition, curated by Uffizi director Eike Schmidt and the Vatican Museums’ director of Renaissance and Baroque art Fabrizio Biferali, is housed on the second floor of the Vasarian museum, in the spaces between the Leonardo Room and the Michelangelo and Raphael Rooms). Read the full story here.

The 10 most interesting art-historical discoveries of 2023

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