KEY POINTS:
For centuries, two paintings in the Royal Collection lay in the dusty storerooms of Hampton Court after experts dismissed them as worthless imitations of Caravaggio's masterpieces.
The experts were wrong.
This week those works will emerge out of storage where they were obscured by varnish and dirt, to be triumphantly displayed to the public.
For The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew and A Boy Peeling Fruit are in fact authentic paintings by the Italian baroque master.
Art historians spent six years studying the paintings, which are estimated to be worth more than 50 million pounds.
Finally last year, they were identified as originals.
In total there are only 50 surviving canvases by the 17th century artist.
The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew, which dates from the height of Caravaggio's Roman period around 1603 to 1606, depicts a passage from the Gospel of Matthew when Christ is thought to have called brothers Simon - later known as Peter - and Andrew to be his disciples.
Jesus is said to have seen Simon and Andrew fishing by the Sea of Galilee when he invited them in to his fold by saying: "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men".
It was acquired by Charles I in 1637 and bears the King's mark 'CR' on the back of the canvas.
The work, regarded as one Caravaggio's more complex pieces, had been in the Royal Family's possession for around 400 years, but was dismissed as a copy during that time until experts from the Royal Collection began restoring the piece.
Discovery that this was an original work led to the confirmation of the simpler piece, A Boy Peeling Fruit, which is the earliest known work by Caravaggio.
It was painted around 1592 to 1593, soon after his arrival in Rome from his native Milan.
During this time, he is believed to have copied religious paintings for wealthy patrons and apparently created some of his own work for personal sale, of which this is the only known example.
The paintings will form part of The Art of Italy exhibition, which opens at the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace on Friday.
The show will be the first of Italian art from the Royal Collection for more than four decades and will bring together 90 paintings and 85 drawings from royal palaces and residences.
Among the items on show will be drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo.
A spokeswoman for the Royal Collection said the two Caravaggio's would appear in public for the first time since confirmation of their authenticity.
Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures, added: "This is a huge addition to the collection."
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, a notorious brawler who fled from Rome after killing a rival in a duel, was born in 1571 and was found dead on a beach in 1610.
He is one of the most highly regarded Italian masters, whose biblical scenes are considered to have revolutionised art, especially his mastery of light and darkness.
The Queen holds works under the Royal Collection as part of Britain's heritage and is not permitted to sell them.
The exhibition will close on 20 January 2008.
- INDEPENDENT
