The goddess of the hunt, the moon and childbirth hovers half naked towards the handsome shepherd. “Diana and Endymion” is the name of the sensual painting by Jerome-Martin Langlois (1779-1838) from 1822. During the First World War it disappeared from the museum in Amiens, in northern France. Now it could be in the collection of American pop star Madonna.
In a video, the mayor of Amiens asks the superstar to lend the photo to the city. “Madonna, you’ve probably never heard of Amiens,” Brigitte Foure begins the video. “But for a few days there was a special connection between you and our city.”
Auctioned for €1.2 million
The appeal to Madonna was preceded by a recent article in Le Figaro. As Foure writes on Facebook, this allowed her to track the photo.
According to the text, Madonna bought the painting “Diana and Endymion” at an auction in New York in 1989 for 1.2 million euros, but without a date and signature. As the “Guardian” also reported, Madonna’s image is three centimeters smaller than the one that disappeared in Amiens more than 100 years ago.
People should see the photo again
Whether it’s the authentic Langlois painting or a copy, she wants the people of Amiens to see it again, the mayor told TV channel TF1 – in 2028, when Amiens competes for the title of European Capital of Culture.
In his video, Foure also specified that the legal acquisition of the painting was not disputed. If Madonna complied with the request, she would have to accept that her painting was subjected to a series of analyses.