Four years ago, the northern French city of Compiègne was astonished by a remarkable find. Inside the residence of an elderly lady, Philomène Wolf, an expert from the Actéon auction house, stumbled upon a painting by the 13th-century Florentine artist Cenni di Pepo, known as Cimabue, hanging on the kitchen wall above the stove.
While the owner initially thought the artwork was a Russian icon, Philomène Wolf swiftly recognized the immense value of this treasure. Actéon offered the tempera painting, painted on poplar wood and portraying the mocking of Christ, up for auction on 27 October 2019, with an estimated value of 4-6 million euros. However, this estimate was far surpassed when the gavel eventually fell at 19.5 million euros, establishing Cimabue's creation as the most expensive painting dating back to before 1500. After including fees, the final amount reached 24.1 million euros, equivalent to about £21 million.
See also: Cimabue: Late Medieval Genius
The purchaser turned out to be the Alana Collection, the private art collection owned by Chilean businessman Álvaro Saieh. This collection specialises in Italian Renaissance paintings and is based in Newark, Delaware. However, the French Ministry of Culture intervened in the sale by designating Cimabue's masterpiece as a national treasure and imposing a 30-month export prohibition. This measure was put in place to provide French institutions with the chance to secure funds for the acquisition of this exceptional artwork.
As revealed in a press release by the Louvre on 3 November 2023, the acquisition process has been successfully finalised. This means that Cimabue's Christ Mocked will now be part of the world-famous museum's painting collection as the department's oldest work of art. In fact, the Louvre already owns a painting by Cimabue, a Maestà from the last quarter of the 13th century, which has been part of the collection since 1812.
See also: The £20 Million Cimabue Painting Will Remain in France
Laurence des Cars, General Director of the Louvre, called Christ Mocked "a crucial milestone in the history of art, marking the fascinating transition from icon to painting." She also announced that both of Cimabue's works (the Maestà is currently being restored) will be part of a special exhibition in the spring of 2025.
