Tintoretto Altarpiece from David Bowie Collection Returns to Venice

A Tintoretto altarpiece once owned by David Bowie will return to Venice in 2019 during the Venice Biennale. The painting, 'The Angel Announcing Her Martyrdom to Saint Catherine of Alexandria' (circa 1570), was part of Bowie's vast collection auctioned by Sotheby's in November 2016. It sold for £191,000 to an anonymous buyer and was subsequently transferred to the Rubens House in Antwerp, a museum beloved by the singer. New research by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage in Brussels, commissioned by the Colnaghi Foundation in London, has revealed that the work is entirely by Tintoretto's own hand, not by his workshop assistants. X-rays showed numerous revisions and adjustments beneath the paint surface, confirming the master's sole authorship. The altarpiece will be exhibited in a group show of Flemish old masters, including Rubens and Van Dyck, artists who admired Tintoretto. Bowie, who died in January 2016, was an avid collector; his auction included 400 lots, featuring works by Graham Sutherland, Henry Moore, Damien Hirst, Frank Auerbach, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.