ART

Not What It Seemed: It was exciting while it lasted--the belief that a long-overlooked painting found in a Madrid government building was by 18th century artist Francisco de Goya. Experts at the Prado museum said last week they were 90% certain that the painting that was locked in an unused room for more than a century was by the old Spanish master himself. But over the weekend, the Prado’s assistant director, Manuela Mena, came up with a preparatory sketch by lesser-known Goya contemporary Mariano Salvador Maella that bore a striking resemblance to the painting of the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary and the souls of the damned. So the artwork apparently is a Maella, not a Goya. Juan Luna, who is curating a retrospective to mark the 250th anniversary of Goya’s birth, said his misspoken colleagues should be forgiven. “They got carried away by emotion,” he said.