A lost $ 6.5 million worth of Cimabue masterpiece found in the kitchen of a Frenchwoman

"Christ Mocked" is expected to reach 6 million euros ($ 6.59 million) at auction next month, according to Jerome Montcouquil, an art specialist, Turquin's Cabinet, who had been tasked with conducting tests on the board after his discovery, at the beginning of the summer.

An elderly French woman from the town of Compiegne kept in her kitchen a rare work of art – which she thought was a Greek religious icon – hanging in her kitchen, said Montcouquil. The unsuspecting owner did not know where the 25.8 x 20.3 cm board came from, he added.

"We quickly realized that it was a work of the Italian painter Cimabue, who is a father of painting, so we know his work very well," Montcouquil said. CNN.

Cimabue is the pseudonym of the artist Cenni di Pepo, born in Florence around 1240. He is known to have been the discoverer and master of Giotto, widely regarded as one of the greatest artists of the previous period the Renaissance.

Acteon

"There are only eleven of his paintings in the world – they are rare."

Montcouquil stated that this work was part of a diptych made in 1280 when the artist painted eight scenes centered on the passion and crucifixion of Christ.

The style of the painting, the gold background and the traces of the former cadre helped the experts to identify the painting as part of the triptych, according to a press release from Acteon auctioneers.

The paint layer remains in "excellent condition" despite the accumulation of dust, the publication continued.

The National Gallery in London houses another scene of the work, "The Virgin and Child with Two Angels", acquired by the gallery in 2000.

It was lost for centuries before a British aristocrat found it in Suffolk, according to AFP.

Another – "The Flogging of Christ" – can be found at the Frick Collection in New York.

"They are all made with the same technique on the same wooden panel so you can follow the grain of the wood through the different scenes," said Montcouquil.

"We also used infrared light to make sure the painting was done in the same hand – you can even see the corrections that he made."

The painting was hanging over a hot plate used for cooking food, but must now go under the hammer on Oct. 27 at the Acteon auction in Senlis, north of Paris, according to L & # 39; AFP.

This will be the first Cimabue painting to be auctioned, according to Montcouquil.