Might be time to get those old heirlooms valued.
Art experts have confirmed that a painting found in the kitchen of an elderly French woman is worth somewhere in the region of €6million.
The painting, whose name has been given as Christ Mocked, was painted by a 13th century Florentine artist known as Cimabue, or Cenni di Pepo. The discovery was made in the French town of Compiegne, where it hung in the kitchen of an elderly lady, hanging above a hotplate.
None of Cimabue’s paintings have ever been auctioned before, and Christ Mocked is expected to fetch as much as €6 million when it goes under the hammer next month.
The piece was identified as it is part of a polyptych — a series of works telling one story. Two other pieces of the series can currently be seen at London’s National Gallery, and the Frick Collection in New York.
Art expert Éric Turquin was able to identify the painting in the woman’s kitchen in this way, noticing that “You can follow the tunnels made by the worms… in the same poplar panel.” Turquin also noted that the painting was done in an identical style.
How the work actually ended up in the woman’s kitchen is a mystery. It will be auctioned off on 27 October.
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