In what would seem to be a case of suspiciously fortuitous timing, the Vatican is claiming to have found a previously undiscovered Caravaggio painting — an announcement that perfectly coincides with the 400th anniversary of the artist's death, which was celebrated across Italy over the weekend.

The purported Caravaggio depicts the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, with the loincloth-clad figure being roasted over a grate with orange flames licking underneath. According to Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, which has been championing the painting's authenticity, the work was found in a Roman building belonging to the Jesuit Order. (Interestingly, "The Taking of Christ," a stolen Caravaggio painting that was recovered earlier this year, had also been unearthed by Jesuits in 1990 in Ireland, though the Counter- Reformation sect was not one of the artist's prominent patrons.)

Though the portrait is executed in the chiaroscuro-heavy, theatrical style for which the artist is famous, other aspects of the painting have led experts to express skepticism about the work being a true Caravaggio. For one thing, there is the subject matter — while the artist painted many martyrdom scenes, he is not known to have painted one of Saint Lawrence. And though some experts attest to the painting's quality and beauty — the Vatican paper calls it "stylistically impeccable" — others are not impressed. "I’ll wait until I get a chance to look at it close up but from the photos I’ve seen it looks to be a thousand miles away from the maestro," Stefania Macioce, the author of a book on Caravaggio, told the Irish Times.