The story behind this long lost Canova painting from London Art Week goes back to Rome in 1792. Prince Abbondio Rezzonico, a patron of Canova, presented a self portrait by Giorgione, the 16th century Venetian painter, to a group of assembled artists then in Rome including Angelica Kauffman, Gavin Hamilton, Antonio Cavallucci, Giovanni Volpato and others. All agreed it was an authentic self portrait.
One year later Canova revealed that he was in fact the painter of the self portrait of Giorgione. The portrait was on a 16th century panel of the Holy Family. Canova, best known now as a sculptor, was also a skilled painter but he seemed to regard painting as a hobby and rarely sold any of his works. The story of the fake was known, but the painting was long thought to have been lost. It was discovered during a valuation in Rome in 2016 and is now on the market in London for one million pounds.