A long-lost painting by Italian master Caravaggio which is part of the British royal family's collection is returning to Italy for the first time in centuries.
The Calling Of Saints Peter and Andrew will go on show in Rome in mid-November, following a lengthy restoration that has confirmed the work is a genuine Caravaggio.
The painting was 'discovered' by leading British art historian Sir Denis Mahon in 2004, hidden away in a small room in Hampton Court Palace just outside London.
It had gone unnoticed for centuries, dismissed as a mere Caravaggio copy owing to numerous alterations, combined with a build-up of dirt and varnish.
Mahon's claims that the painting was an original by the Renaissance master were initially greeted with caution but the restoration has convinced sceptics otherwise.
"There can be absolutely no doubt," said one of the world's top Caravaggio scholars, Maurizio Marini. "The restoration has confirmed documentation from the time, which testified who the artist was".
The painting, which was completed between 1601 and 1602, was acquired from an art dealer in 1637 by King Charles I, who was a keen collector.
The highly religious nature of the work, which shows the two saints with a young, beardless Christ, meant it "moved in Catholic circles between 1637 and 1640, during [Oliver] Cromwell's Puritan revolution," said Marini.
But after this the painting was radically tampered with, removing the religious elements from the work.
It remained in the royal collection and was overlooked by dozens of experts over the centuries, including the top Italian art historian Roberto Longhi, who after seeing a photograph of the painting said it could only be the product of a Caravaggio wannabe.
However, Marini has come out strongly in support of Mahon's assessment.
"As soon as I placed the work under powerful torchlight, I immediately saw repentance in the hand movements of Jesus and the saints, [a style] not used by imitators," explained Marini.
Another clue stemmed from the rendering of the material around Jesus's chest, which showed the typical incisions that Caravaggio alone used to replace the underlying drawing.
"Sir Denis agreed with me and after the restoration, which confirmed its authorship, we all now believe this to be a stunning original".
The reassessment of the work has boosted its value from a hundred thousand pounds to tens of millions of pounds, according to British daily The Times.
The painting arrives in Rome over the next few days, for a show opening on November 21 in the Mazzoniana Wing of Rome's Termini Rail Station.
