In this artwork, how is the Discovery and sale discussed?
The painting was discovered hanging above the hotplate in the kitchen of an elderly woman living in Compiègne, northern France. The woman was in her nineties and was selling the house, which had been built in the 1960s, and moving from the area. Ahead of the move in June 2019 the owner called in a local auctioneer to determine if any of her possessions were worth selling; the remainder were to be thrown away. The owner and her family recognised the Mocking of Christ only as an old religious icon and thought it had little value. The owner could not remember how the work came to be in her possession, but thought it to be of Russian origin.The auctioneer had only one week to evaluate the contents of the house, but noticed the Mocking of Christ almost immediately. They thought it to be of an Italian primitivist nature and possibly worth €300,000 to €400,000. The owner was advised to send it away for testing and it went to Eric Turquin and his colleagues at the Turquin Gallery in Paris. Testing under infrared light revealed similarities with other works by Cimabue and it was attributed to the artist. Some other items from the house sold at auction for €6,000 and the remainder were sent to landfill.The work was put up for auction at the Actéon Hôtel des Ventes, in Senlis, Oise, on 27 October 2019 with an estimate of €4–6 million. Some 800 people attended the auction and there was interest from several foreign museums. The work reached a hammer price of €19.5 million, which reached €24 million once selling fees were included. The winning bid was placed by the London-based dealer Fabrizio Moretti, on behalf of two anonymous collectors. This set a new world record for a pre-1500 artwork sold at auction. The price was believed to be so high as it was the first time a work by Cimabue had sold at auction. Both seller and purchaser decided to remain anonymous, though the buyers have been reported to be two Chilean nationals living in the United States. On 23 December 2019 the French government put in place a 30-month ban on export of the work. It was hoped that funds could be raised to purchase it so it can go on display at the Louvre alongside the artist's Maestà. It was finally acquired by the Louvre in November 2023.
landfill France Cimabue Oise hammer price Senlis Fabrizio Moretti € Louvre Compiègne