art sensation
Lost masterpiece from 1620 rediscovered in Beirut
The rediscovered painting “Hercules and Omphale” by Artemisia Gentileschi
© J Paul Getty Trust / Sursock Palace Collections, Beirut
The Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi is considered one of the few recognized women in the Baroque art scene. Today, their works bring in millions. Now, unexpectedly, a painting previously believed lost has been rediscovered.
In August 2020, an accident shocked the world: in Beirut, a warehouse with fireworks exploded, killing 207 people and injuring more than 6,000. The port and countless houses were destroyed. The images of the catastrophe went through all the media and caused great dismay. Among numerous other historical buildings, the Sursock Museum, a major art museum, was also affected by the explosion – and the opposite Sursock Palace, a historic mansion from 1860. During the cleaning and restoration work there, countless valuable furniture and objects were found works of art. However, one of them turned out to be very special.
From the rubble, the workers rescued a large, opulent oil painting that had hung on one of the walls of the mansion for more than 100 years. Apparently without anyone knowing what kind of treasure it really was. The picture shows the mythical figures Hercules and Omphale. Omphale is a powerful yet beguiling queen who commands the muscular demigod to spin wool in women’s clothing. The work was in relatively good condition, but the canvas was torn in one place.
A masterpiece in the rubble
When the oil painting was brought to the United States to be meticulously restored at the J. Paul Getty Museum, a Lebanese art historian, Gregory Buchakjian, who in the 1990s acquired the paintings from the Sursock Palace collection for examine his doctoral thesis. At the time, he assumed that “Hercules and Omphale” was a work by the famous Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1654) could act. Most people are familiar with their impressive depiction of the biblical beheading scene with Judith and Holofernes, even if they Gentileschis names may not be able to assign directly.
Artemisia Gentileschi lived an eventful life – as one of very few respected women in the art scene of the Renaissance. As an art student, she was raped by her teacher Agostino Tassi, after which she seemed to want revenge in many of her works. Male figures often find themselves in fatal or degrading situations. The hero Hercules, forced into women’s clothing, would also fit well into the scheme.
The experts agree
The art historian’s suspicions only became public at a late stage because his doctoral thesis was not published internationally at the time. But now he pointed this out to his colleagues in the art scene at a conference – and reaped approval from all sides. Sheila Barker, one of the most recognized Gentileschi experts, is thrilled to have found the masterpiece. As a result, a total of 61 of her pictures are now known, she is happy. “There have already been plenty of possible Artemisia images hoping for approval from art experts and dealers – and they almost always ended in disappointment. And now, of all places, from this unexpected part of the world, this corner of the southern Mediterranean, comes this stunning example the genius of Artemisia!”
The rediscovered masterpiece is to be exhibited at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles next year, after which it will return to Beirut, where it will also be kept in the museum and made accessible to the public.
Source: “The Art Newspaper”