A painting believed to be by the 17th century Flemish painter Rubens has been unveiled in a small town in Russia.
The painting that was previously believed to be a copy of a work by Peter Paul Rubens is now being considered an original. Mary Magdalene in mourning with her sister Martha has been restored, revealing new imagery. The head paintings conservator from the Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg, Viktor Korobov, has examined the piece and believes it to be authentic. The work was discovered in Irbit, a small town near Yekaterinburg, Russia.
The head of painting restoration from the Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg, Viktor Korobov, examined the painting on Thursday, and said it was “undoubtedly an original, created with the participation of Rubens’ pupils,” Karpov said.
The face of Jesus’s follower Mary Magdalene and her arms are believed to have been painted by Peter Paul Rubens himself, while the figure of her sister could have been painted by pupils in his large workshop.
The painting closely resembles an original in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, but “there are many differences in the details … Our painting is more vivid, the face is more noble, the hair is golden as typical for Rubens,” said deputy director Andrei Gamlitsky.
