In April 2019, Oise Hebdo revealed that the discovery of this tableau of Cimabue dating from the 13th century in a house in Compiégnois. Sold for 24 million euros at Louvrethe painting is about to be exhibited in the Parisian museum for the first time. L'exposition will begin this Wednesday, January 22.
April 2019, a family called on Actéon Compiègne Enchères to take inventory of a house in Compiègnois. Hanging carelessly between the kitchen and the living room, The mockery of Christa painting by Cimabue dating from the 13th century is estimated at between 4 and 6 million euros.
*Actéon will organize the auction some time later. And when the hammer falls, the work is sold for 24 million euros (including costs). The buyer is Chilean businessman Álvaro Saieh. But the Ministry of Culture then refused to sign the export certificate for the work, declaring it a national treasure.
The Cimabue bought by the Louvre
This maneuver made it possible to organize the financial package to buy the painting. It was ultimately the Louvre which became the buyer. He bought back the Cimabue at the price for which it had been sold at auction.
Partly under restoration, the 13th century work will be exhibited at the Louvre Museum for the first time, from this Wednesday, January 20. The Derision of Christ will rub shoulders with Majestyanother major work by Cimabue. This exhibition is titled Review Cimabue.
The auctioneers' squabble
A few years have passed since the discovery of this Cimabue in the house of an octogenarian in Compiégnois. At the time, the work was discovered by Philomène Wolf, auctioneer chez Actéon Compiègne Auctionsled by another auctioneer Dominique Le Coënt de Beaulieu. And today, nothing is going well between the two of them, as the newspaper Le Parisien revealed at the end of last December.
-It was the fact that Philomène Wolf created her own auction room in Venette that set things on fire. Her former employer sees this as unfair competition, which the person concerned denies, insisting on not having a non-competition clause.
She defends herself by recalling having been revoked within 15 days. After 14 years of work in Compiègne in this field, she considers it logical to have remained in the sector.
Mutual complaints
Since then, Dominique Le Coënt de Beaulieu has accused him of having poached two people from Actéon. He also deplores the use of photos of objects taken at the Actéon auction room in Compiègne.
As for the Cimabue, master Dominique Le Coënt de Beaulieu seems to be annoyed to see Philomène Wolf taking credit for this discovery. In passing, he teases her by reminding her that she was wrong in her first estimate of the painting, estimating it between 150 and 200 euros. This is the analysis of Eric Turquin, expert in old paintings.
The two auctioneers only speak to each other today through lawyers. Mutual complaints were filed.
