A pre-Renaissance painting by a Florentine artist narrowly escaped the trash and was instead purchased by the Louvre Museum in Paris for the equivalent of $35.7 million Canadian after it was found in a nonagenarian’s kitchen in 2019.
“An extremely rare painting by Cimabue, The Mocking of Christ, will join the collections of the Department of Painting, becoming its oldest work and a significant milestone in understanding the development of Western painting,” the Louvre announced earlier this November. Museum via press release.
The wooden painting by the Florentine master Cimabue – considered by art historians to be one of the main figures of the Italian pre-Renaissance – was found by chance and, above all, at the last minute, in the kitchen of a nonagenarian from Compiègne, north of Paris, who had decided to have certain objects appraised , before putting them on the side of the road, Le Figaro reported last week.
“the most expensive primitive painting in the world”
The mockery of Christ
Painting depicting Jesus surrounded by an excited crowd
Rescued at the last minute from a trash can, this painting by Florentine master Cimabue was acquired by the Louvre Museum for 24 million euroshttps://t.co/dnbickwwMW pic.twitter.com/aRm8uoDgft— CharlesHenry Delapomme 🇫🇷Z🌿👑 (@CHenryDelapomme) November 14, 2023
At that time, the Parisian expert Éric Turquin became aware of the painting, which he estimated at the time to be worth between 4 and 6 million euros, according to the French media.
But after the painting was sold to a private buyer towards the end of 2019 and was declared a national treasure by the Ministry of Culture, it was purchased by the Louvre for 24 million euros, equivalent to more than 35.7 million Canadian dollars. According to a report by Le Figaro, this would make it “the eighth most expensive ancient painting sold worldwide.”
The Mocking of Christ, measuring 20.3 cm x 28.5 cm, will be exhibited in the French Museum from 2025.