'Lost Caravaggio' unveiled before $170-mn auction

The naked warrior grimaces as a graceful woman methodically slices off his head with a sword. It is a burst of violence painted in haunting tones by a Renaissance master worth an estimated $170 million — or yet another fake distressing the art world. The mystery took another plot twist on Thursday with the unveiling of the fully restored version of what some believe to be Caravaggio’s long-lost masterpiece. French art expert Eric Turquin has been looking after the life-size canvas since its discovery during pipe repair work in the attic of an old house in the southwestern French city of Toulouse in 2014. “Not only is it a Caravaggio, but of all the Caravaggios that are known today, this is one of the great pictures,” Turquin said ahead of the painting’s June 27 auction in Toulouse. “It’s not just an addition — it is a major addition to the oeuvre of the artist.