Sotheby’s (Not Surprisingly) Wins Its Caravaggio Case

The Telegraph has the verdict from the London court tasked with determining if Sotheby’s was negligent in doubting an example of The Card Sharps was by Caravaggio. The issue came before the court because Denis Mahon later declared the work to be an original thus making its value orders of magnitude above what the original consignor had sold it for:

A judge found that the auction house was “entitled to rely on the connoisseurship and expertise of their specialists”, who were ” highly qualified and examined the painting thoroughly”.

“They reasonably came to the view on the basis of what they saw that the quality of the painting was not sufficiently high to indicate that it might be by Caravaggio,” she added.

After the ruling, a Sotheby’s spokesman said: “Sotheby’s is delighted that today’s ruling dismisses all claims brought against the company and confirms that Sotheby’s expertise is of the highest standards.

“After a four-week trial in which five witnesses for Sotheby’s and three independent experts gave testimony, the judge concluded that Sotheby’s was not negligent and that the Sotheby’s Old Master Painting specialists who assessed the work were ‘highly qualified,’ examined the painting ‘thoroughly,’ and reasonably came to the view that the quality of the painting was ‘not sufficiently high’ to merit further investigation.”

Caravaggio in court: Sotheby’s wins case after ‘£10m’ painting sold for £42,000  (Telegraph)