After a four-year campaign, the Louvre Museum in Paris is set to welcome a newfound “national treasure” into its esteemed collection.
The discovery of “Christ Mocked” by the Florentine artist Cimabue took place in 2019 during a house clearance in the town of Compiegne. The artwork, measuring 10 inches by 8 inches, had been residing in the kitchen of an elderly woman who mistook it for a Greek religious icon.
The unsuspecting owner was unaware of the painting’s origin, as mentioned by Jerome Montcouquil from art specialists Cabinet Turquin, who conducted tests on the artwork post its discovery.
According to the ministry, the Louvre’s efforts have been exceptional, enabling the preservation of sought-after works within France and ensuring accessibility to all. However, specifics about the fundraising remain undisclosed.
The ministry emphasized the painting’s significance in art history, marking a compelling transition from an icon to a painting, terming it “a crucial milestone.”
With only about 15 known works by Cimabue, the painting holds immense national importance, adding to the existing collection in the Louvre, particularly alongside “Maestà,” another substantial Cimabue piece. Both artworks are scheduled to be showcased in a spring 2025 exhibition.
Cimabue, also known as Cenni di Pepo, born around 1240 in Florence, played a pivotal role as Giotto’s mentor, a distinguished artist of the pre-Renaissance era.
“Christ Mocked” is part of a diptych illustrating eight scenes focusing on Christ’s passion and crucifixion.
Remarkably, another segment of the diptych, “The Virgin and Child with Two Angels,” is housed in the National Gallery in London, discovered in an ancestral home in Suffolk after being lost for centuries. Similarly, “The Flagellation of Christ” can be found at the Frick Collection in New York.
