Mantegna Masterpiece Rediscovered at Accademia Carrara in Bergamo

A painting long dismissed as a copy has been reattributed to Andrea Mantegna. The 'Resurrection of Christ,' a late 15th-century panel at Bergamo's Accademia Carrara, was considered a workshop piece or copy for nearly 200 years. Recent studies revealed it is the upper half of a larger composition, with the lower half being Mantegna's 'Descent into Limbo' (1492), sold at Sotheby's in 2003 for $30 million and now in the Barbara Piasecka Johnson collection in Princeton. The discovery was made by observing a small cross on the lower edge of the panel, which aligned with the staff in the 'Descent.' The attribution was confirmed by a signature on the back and stylistic analysis. The 'Resurrection' was bought in 1842 by Count Lochis for 24 zecchini, initially attributed to Bartolomeo Cincani. Sir Charles Eastlake attributed it to Mantegna in 1850, but later scholars like Giovanni Morelli and Bernard Berenson doubted it. The full study will appear in the 'Complete Catalogue of Italian Paintings of the 14th and 15th Centuries' by Giovanni Valagussa, published by Officina Libraria Editore. Accademia Carrara director Maria Cristina Rodeschini and mayor Giorgio Gori celebrated the find.