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The Campion Hall painting, which depicts the crucifixion, had been thought to be by
Marcello Venusti.
But Antonio Forcellino said infra-red technology had revealed the true creator of the
masterpiece.
It has been removed from a wall of the Jesuit academic community and sent to the Ashmolean
Museum for safekeeping.
The master of Campion Hall, Father Brendan Callaghan, said: "It's a very beautiful piece, but
far too valuable to have on our wall any more."
He said he greeted the development that the work - called Crucifixion With The Madonna, St
John And Two Mourning Angels - could be a Michelangelo with "a mixture of excitement
and slight concern".
"Its value in the three years I've been master has gone up tenfold, even if it's not by
Michelangelo.
"No doubt the art historians will argue the points to and fro."
In his book The Lost Michelangelos, Mr Forcellino wrote: "No-one but Michelangelo could
have painted such a masterpiece."
The painting was bought by Campion Hall at a Sotheby's auction in the 1930s.