There are undiscovered paintings by Renaissance masters hanging unrecognized in the homes of ordinary homeowners. Take this one, for example!
A 16th-century masterwork was recently discovered in the London, UK bungalow of a 90-year-old woman. It sold at auction for $310,000.
The painting, titled The Depiction of the Madonna and Child, is believed to have been painted by either Flippino Lippi, a student of Boticelli’s, or by one of his followers.
The painting was discovered by an auctioneer in the bedroom of a woman in her 90s who was living in a nursing home and suffering from dementia. According to a statement released by Dawson’s, the woman had moved to London from Italy as a young girl and had inherited the painting after her father’s death over 30 years ago. She was unaware of its value.
According to the auction house, the religious themed artwork has “turned out to be a godsend” to its owner and her family, who were struggling to pay her medical bills.