A Lost Masterpiece Worth $26 Million Was Discovered in an Unsuspecting Elderly Woman's Kitchen

Photo: Michel Euler/AP/Shutterstock

An elderly womanin Francehad the surprise of a lifetime last month when shediscovered an old paintingin her home was worth more than $26.6 million.

The painting was found in the city of Compiègne in northern France, where it had been hanging above a hotplate in the woman’s kitchen for many years. According to theBBC, the woman believed that it was simply a religious piece with no real value. She was very wrong.

Michel Euler/AP/Shutterstock

An auctioneer named Dominique Le Coent from Acteon Auction House initially valued the painting at $7,720,200, but sold it for $26,600,000 to an anonymous French buyer — more than four times what he expected.

He explained toReutersthat, “When a unique work of a painter as rare as Cimabue comes to market, you have to be ready for surprises.”

Acteon Auction House toldBBCthat thepainting now holds the world recordfor the most expensive piece of Medieval artwork to ever besold at auction.

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According to the news outlet, two other pieces from the polyptych series can be found at art museums across the world — one at London’s National Gallery, and one at the Frick Collection in New York.

source: people.com