A painting recently attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi was placed on prominent display at Frieze Masters, courtesy of Paris-based Galerie G. Sarti.
The provenance of the work indicates that it is from a private collection in France somewhere.
When prodded, a representative of the gallery pointed out that the work had been placed "en dépôt" at a museum in Toulon, France.
How long had been "en dépôt" there?
At least half a century.
Wow, that's long,
Who placed it there?
A collector.
From where?
He is a German collector.
Now the story gets better.
2018-50=1968 (at the latest).
Why would a German collector come down to Toulon just to "deposit" a large painting with a museum in southern France?
He didn't. He lives nearby. Monte Carlo. He comes from a powerful "royal family."
Ooooh!
So, after about 15 minutes of diplomatic back and forth with the gallery representative, the provenance at least got clarified to a point.
Who is this German collector? We probably will not know.
Where did he get the painting from? We probably will not know until further prodding which could exceed the bounds of civility.
The rumor has it that this version of "Cleopatra" by Gentileschi may have floated through the collection of King Charles I. But that's not definitive yet.