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AI Confirms Caravaggio's Lute Player, Reshaping Art History

9/27/2025

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Summary

Story summary

The Lute Player is authenticated as a Caravaggio with an 85.7% probability, per Art Recognition and Liverpool University using AI.
Sotheby’s and the Metropolitan Museum previously dismissed it as a copy; Badminton version is praised, Wildenstein version inauthentic.
Its provenance traces to Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, while discussions and a documentary seek to place it in a public collection.

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Story summary

The Lute Player is authenticated as a Caravaggio with an 85.7% probability, per Art Recognition and Liverpool University using AI.
Sotheby’s and the Metropolitan Museum previously dismissed it as a copy; Badminton version is praised, Wildenstein version inauthentic.
Its provenance traces to Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, while discussions and a documentary seek to place it in a public collection.