Masterpiece by 13th century Italian painter Cimabue found in French woman’s kitchen

[xeni]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/09/24/masterpiece-by-13th-century-it.html

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[David_Richards]

This is really cool, but as people in the art world in Europe, well aware of the past problems in looted art, like to say… “Wheredayagetitfrom?”

[MTHead]

Synchronicity is a weird, weird thing. Until yesterday, I hadn’t heard the name Cimabue, or thought of him at all, for perhaps twenty years. Earlier today, I listened to the audiobook of Frederick Forsyth’s short story “The Art of the Matter” (note: don’t bother, unless you really really like Forsyth), which centers on a forgery scam involving a fake Cimabue. And now this.
The universe knows the secret of comedy: Timing.

[hecep]

I’d love to attend the auction, but only if I can get away with yelling out “I bid one-thousand quatloos”, then immediately run the heck on out of there.

[Rita_Lynn]

I’ll give you 100,000 self-sealing stem bolts for it!

[Lexisaurus]

Looks like being in a kitchen and whatever else it’s been through haven’t been kind to it. I hope they are able to clean it up without damaging it.

[hecep]

Quite tantalizing.

[bashful]

It’s probably preserved under layers of kitchen grease and cigarette smoke.

[knoxblox]

I was thinking the same. Hopefully there was a decent coat of varnish.

[AlexG55]

With religious art in France, I suspect somebody probably grabbed it from a church during the Revolution.

Note that Compiègne was the site of a Carmelite monastery that was closed down, and the nuns guillotined, during the Terror.

[GulliverFoyle]

Eucharist? More like escargot, ammirite?