Long-lost €6m artwork up for auction -------------------------------------- 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” 25.8cm × 20.3cm Tempera on poplar panel Woman had hung painting above kitchen hotplate at house in Compiègne She had artwork valued, believing it to be religious icon Compiègne Paris FRANCE Painting will go under hammer at Actéon auction house in Senlis, near Compiègne, on Oct 27 -------------------------------------- Painting thought to be part of polyptych – larger work of eight scenes depicting Christ’s Passion and crucifixion – dating from 1280. Reconstruction of diptych -------------------------------------- 1 2 3 4 50cm 42cm 42cm Panel lost Panel lost Panel lost Panel lost Panel lost -------------------------------------- Cimabue (1251-1302) Also known as Cenni di Pepo is widely recognised as father of Western painting -------------------------------------- 1 The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Two Angels Purchased by National Gallery, London, in 2000 2 The Kiss of Judas Lost 3 Christ Mocked Found in Compiègne in 2019 4 Flagellation of Christ Purchased by Frick Collection, New York, in 1950 -------------------------------------- Pictures: Newscom, Getty Images, National Gallery, Frick Collection © GRAPHIC NEWS Source: AFP, The Art Newspaper