Yahoo Finance $32m painting found in elderly woman’s kitchen
A lost painting discovered by a French woman in her kitchen sold for 24.2 million Euros (AU$32 million) after it was found to be ‘Christ Mocked’, by Italian painter Cimabue.
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The painting had been hung above a hot plate used for cooking, with the unsuspecting owner unaware that it was part of a diptych produced in 1280, and one of only 11 paintings by Cimabue – who also went by Cenni di Pepo.
‘Christ Mocked’ is just 20.3cm by 28.5cm and was initially spotted by an auctioneer when he visited the woman’s house in Compiègne, north of Paris.
The elderly woman had moved to a retirement village, so inventory was being taken for the house before it was emptied.
However, after selling at auction for four times the expected price, the French government categorised the artwork as a national treasure, and blocked the export for 30 months to give the government time to raise the funds to buy it back for the country.
In a statement, the French Ministry of Culture said the work formed part of a diptych which was possibly commissioned for display in Pisa.
“Thanks to the time given by this measure, all efforts can be mobilised so that this exceptional work can enrich national collections,” said Minister of Culture Franck Riester.
The ministry also said the panel showed Cimabue’s use of a new language of expression.
“This evolution is notably visible in the humanist treatment of the figure of Jesus, the rendering of the expressions of the characters or that of the space.”
This isn’t the first time a French person has discovered a priceless Italian artwork in their home.
A Toulouse man in 2014 stumbled across a $244 million Caravaggio painting in his loft while spring cleaning.
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