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Graphic looks at details of the painting and shows the reconstruction of the polyptych which originally contained the discovered panel.
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ART

Masterpiece found in elderly woman's kitchen

By Jordi Bou

October 23, 2019 - An early Renaissance masterpiece by the Florentine painter Cimabue, discovered in an elderly woman’s kitchen in a town near Paris, could fetch up to €6m ($6.5m) when it goes to auction.

“Christ Mocked”, part of a series of paintings from the late 13th Century, was discovered at the property in the northern French town of Compiègne.

The elderly owner thought it was just a rather old religious icon when she took it to her local auctioneers to be valued.

The painting is thought to be part of a large diptych dating back to 1280, when Cimabue painted eight scenes depicting Christ's passion and crucifixion.

Two other scenes from the work hang in the National Gallery in London (The Virgin and Child with Two Angels) and the Frick Collection in New York (The Flagellation of Christ).

“Christ Mocked” will go under the hammer at the Acteon auction house in Senlis, north of Paris, on October 27.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 24/09/2019; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Newscom, Getty Images, National Gallery, Frick Collection
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