€24m masterpiece must stay in France

A 13th CENTURY masterpiece – Florentine artist Cimabue’s Mocking of Christ – must stay in France after US buyers paid €24.1million for it.

Connexion journalist

Published wednesday 29 January 2020 - 15:00 Last updated wednesday 29 January 2020 - 15:00

The 25.8cm by 20.3cm work heralds the start of the Italian renaissance and was found hanging in a modest home in Compiègne, Oise.

The culture minister refused an export licence and has 30 months to fund a purchase.

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