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The "Christ Mocked" painting by early
Renaissance artist Cimabue was valued at 4 to 6 million euros
($6.6 million) by Paris old masters specialist Eric Turquin and
will be sold by auction house Acteon in Senlis, north of Paris,
on Oct. 27.
For years, the painting had hung close to a cooking plate in the
kitchen of an elderly lady in Compiegne, north of Paris. It was
found to be a Cimabue when an auction house specialist came to
value her possessions.
Turquin said there was no doubt about the authenticity of the
painting, as it was in the style of the Italian master and
tunnels made by woodworms in the poplar wood panel match those
of two similar Cimabues, a "Madonna Enthroned" in London's
National Gallery and "The Flagellation of Christ" in the Frick
Collection in New York.
"This is an important work in art history. Cimabue pushed the
envelope, he broke with the Greek style of painting with no
perspective and he introduced humanity. In 1280, that was
totally new, he was a revolutionary," Turquin told Reuters.
The painting, executed in egg tempera, shows the figure of
Christ surrounded by an angry crowd who have come to arrest him.
Turquin said the tiny painting - measuring just 20 by 26 cm (10
inches) - is believed to be part of a diptych consisting of
eight small panels. It may have been cut apart by an art dealer
in the 19th century to get a better price.
"Works by Cimabue are very rare. When I was an art student, I
would never have dared to think that one day I would have the
chance to hold a painting like this," he said.
The sale will be the first instance of a Cimabue painting coming
to market and will be the first chance to value the artist's
work, the auction house said.
Born in Florence, Cimabue, also known as Cenni di Pepo, was a
pioneering Italian primitive painter, of whom only about 10
known works have survived. He was one of the first to use
perspective and paint in a more natural style that broke with
mediaeval and Byzantine traditions.
(Reporting by Noemie Olive and Pascale Antony; Writing by Geert
De Clercq; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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