The so-called Caravaggio in the attic looks like a fake to me

A supposedly 400-year-old painting found in Tolouse has the old master’s cinematic lighting and lurid focus. But where is the psychological intensity?

I am sorry but it is all too good to be true. The owners of an old house near Toulouse ventured into their attic and found a large dusty painting. When a local antiques dealer gave it a gentle clean, he recognised it as a painting by – or closely associated with – none other than the great Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.

Related: 'Lost Caravaggio' found in French attic causes rift in art world

What’s the Judith of Toulouse playing at? She has drifted off, right in the middle of hacking off a man's head

Related: The Complete Caravaggio part one

Small details are often the crucial clues – look at the hands of Holofernes, at his filthy fingernails

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