Caravaggio attribution debate sparks Brera exhibition and resignation

The Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan opens a new exhibition, 'Il Terzo Dialogo: Attorno a Caravaggio. Una questione di attribuzione,' on November 10, 2016, curated by former superintendent Nicola Spinosa. The show centers on Caravaggio's 'The Supper at Emmaus' (1606) and includes a disputed painting, 'Judith Beheading Holofernes,' from a private collection, discovered in 2014 in a Toulouse attic. The attribution of this work has caused controversy, leading to the resignation of art historian Giovanni Agosti from Brera's scientific committee. Director James Bradburne defends the exhibition's purpose as a transparent public inquiry into attribution, a task no single scholar can accomplish alone. The exhibition coincides with the reinstallation of seven rooms at the museum. Spinosa supports the painting's authenticity, while Mina Gregori, a student of Roberto Longhi, opposes it. The exhibition runs until February 5, 2017. A closed-door study day is planned for late January 2017, with international Caravaggio experts, followed by publication of proceedings.