CIRCLE OF VALENTIN DE BOULOGNE | THE CROWNING OF THORNS

Anonymous sale, Rome, Galleria d'Arte L'Antonina, 10 December 1962, lot 83 (as Attributed to Jusepe de Ribera);

There acquired by William Finsten, Toronto;

Thence by descent to his daughter, Santa Barbara, since 1999.

A. Moir, Caravaggio and His Copyists, Rome 1976, reproduced fig. 80.

This powerfully composed painting is reminiscent of Valentin de Boulogne's earlier works. Although various attributions have been proposed, scholars have not been able to reach a consensus.

Professor Alfred Moir endorsed an attribution to the circle of Valentin de Boulogne in a letter dated 27 February 1980. He knew the painting from images and believed it was executed circa 1620.