Suspected Caravaggio work given protected status in Spain

Painting came close to being sold at auction for 1,500 before its true potential value of 50m came to light

A small oil painting that avoided being sold at a Spanish auction for 1,500 earlier this year after experts suggested it could be the work of the Italian master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio has been granted protected status as an item of cultural interest.

The painting of the scourged Christ, which measures 111cm by 86cm, was withdrawn from sale in April after suspicions grew that it had been incorrectly attributed to the circle of the 17th-century Spanish artist Jose de Ribera.