Masterpiece found hanging in French woman's kitchen headed to the Louvre

Nov. 16 (UPI) -- A long-lost masterpiece dating back to 1280 is headed to the Louvre after it was found hanging in a French grandmother's kitchen.

"Christ Mocked," a 10-inch-by-8-inch painting by Florentine artist Cimabue, aka Cenni di Pepo, was rediscovered in 2019, when an elderly woman from the town of Compiegne decided to have it appraised.

The painting had been hanging in her kitchen for years.

The artwork was auctioned for about $26.8 million, but the French government barred it from being exported, declaring it to be a "national treasure."

Rima Abdul Malak, the French minister of culture, and Laurence des Cars, president and director of the Louvre Museum, said the painting will now have a new home as part of an exhibit at the famed Paris museum.

The duo announced that the French government had purchased the painting from the auction winner.

"Christ Mocked" and another Cimabue painting, titled "Maestà," will be displayed at the Louvre in an exhibit set to open in 2025.