Rare Cimabue painting discovered in French woman's kitchen

A 13th century masterpiece by the Florentine painter Cimabue was recently discovered in the kitchen of an elderly woman in the northern French city of Compiegne, where it had hung for years above her stove.

The woman had thought that it was simply an old icon painting and asked for it to be appraised before she sold it at auction.

When old masters expert Eric Turquin inspected the work, he determined that it was from the hand of the important Medieval painter.

Comparing the tunnels of woodworms with two similar panels by Cimabue in the Frick Collection in New York and the National Gallery in London, Turquin said the recently discovered panel had likely been part of the same 1280 diptych.

Panel 'displays a broad range of emotions'

Turquin says that even though "Christ Mocked," which measures 24 by 20 centimeters (10 by 8 inches), "may seem grim, the gestures and facial expressions in the painting display a broad range of emotions."

Cimabue, born Bencivieni di Pepo (1272-1302), was a key figure in the transition from Medieval to Renaissance painting, having broken from the strictures of Byzantine influence in Italian art.

He was also the teacher of one of the greatest of all Italian Proto-Renaissance painters, Giotto di Bondone (ca. 1267-1337).

The newly discovered panel is expected to fetch between €4 and €6 million ($4.3-$6.6 million) when it is auctioned at Acteon, in the city of Senlis, north of Paris, in late October.

js/rc (AFP, AP, dpa)