A small metropolis in northern France is popping to an unlikely supply in an effort to reclaim a portray that it misplaced greater than a century in the past: Madonna.
In 1872, the Louvre lent the portray, “Diana and Endymion” by Jérôme-Martin Langlois, to the Picardy Museum in Amiens, France, the place it remained till disappearing sooner or later by the top of World Battle I.
On Monday, the mayor of Amiens, Brigitte Fouré, stated in a video that she just lately discovered Madonna owned a portray that appeared identical to the lacking one.
Whereas acknowledging that Madonna might be unfamiliar with Amiens, Ms. Fouré nonetheless claimed a “particular connection” between her metropolis and the pop star. She went on to recommend that the portray that disappeared from the Picardy and the portray belonging to Madonna had been one and the identical, a chance that artwork specialists, together with the museum’s present curator, have discounted.
Within the video, Ms. Fouré requested Madonna if she would think about loaning her portray to Amiens to coincide with the town’s bid to be named a 2028 European Capital of Culture, an initiative devised to spotlight the cultural variety of Europe.
In her attraction, Ms. Fouré glossed over just a few holes in her speculation, together with the truth that Madonna’s portray is three centimeters shorter than the misplaced portray. And in contrast to the Picardy model, Madonna’s portray doesn’t have a signature from the artist. (“Possibly it was minimize?” the mayor surmised later.)
Based on Le Figaro, Madonna, the highest-charting feminine musician in historical past, purchased the portray from Sotheby’s in October 1989.
“We solely want that the inhabitants of Amiens can see once more the portray which disappeared in the course of the First World Battle,” Ms. Fouré stated.
Representatives for Madonna didn’t reply to requests for remark. A spokeswoman for Sotheby’s, Mitzi Mina, stated that the portray it bought in 1989 was described as a duplicate and that the unique “Diana and Endymion” was destroyed throughout an air raid in 1918. She declined to touch upon who purchased the portray, however stated that it bought for $440,000.
Earlier than providing merchandise on the market, Ms. Mina stated, Sotheby’s conducts intensive due diligence to make sure its items are genuine and don’t have any authorized obstacles. “In the midst of this, we test in opposition to all out there information of misplaced or stolen artwork and commonly seek the advice of the main specialists within the subject, as was the case on this occasion,” she stated.
The Picardy Museum, constructed between 1855 and 1867, was the primary constructing in France that was particularly designed to be a high-quality arts museum, and its assortment right this moment consists of archaeological artifacts from prehistoric websites, sculptures and up to date artwork. 5 years after the museum opened, in 1872, the Louvre lent “Diana and Endymion,” a neoclassical work that was commissioned in 1817 and delivered in 1822, to the Picardy, François Séguin, the museum’s curator, stated.
In some unspecified time in the future after that, the portray disappeared. Mr. Séguin stated the portray was not included in a museum catalog in 1911, although it might have been rolled up in storage and never on show.
Others stated the portray’s disappearance almost certainly occurred throughout an aerial bombardment in March 1918, when a torpedo hit the museum. The assault induced intensive injury to the constructing and its paintings, however “Diana and Endymion” shouldn’t be included within the listing of works that had been destroyed within the bombings. Others stated the piece was misplaced when the paintings that had been moved to security throughout World Battle I had been returned to the museum.
“The work may have left the museum with out being actually destroyed earlier than or after the bombardment,” Mr. Séguin stated.
Regardless of Ms. Fouré’s declare, Mr. Séguin stated there was no proof to recommend that Madonna’s portray is similar one which was misplaced.
He stated curators on the Louvre and the Picardy had recognized concerning the portray now owned by Madonna since 1988, when it was exhibited on the Bailly Gallery in Paris. On the time, specialists on the Louvre concluded that the piece, which not like the Amiens piece was unsigned and undated, was not the identical because the piece that was lacking.
“Because of this the portray was in a position to cross the Atlantic, to be bought in New York after which acquired by Madonna,” Mr. Séguin stated. He added: “If there was any doubt concerning the model saved by Madonna, it could be as much as the Louvre to hold out any investigations. The Amiens museum is simply a depository.”
Ms. Fouré stated in an interview that her objective was to present the folks of Amiens an opportunity to see the lacking work. Even when Madonna’s portray was not the identical because the lacking one, Ms. Fouré stated she anticipated that residents could be moved by the expertise of seeing it in particular person.
Ms. Fouré acknowledged that it was considerably unimaginable {that a} famous person like Madonna, who’s performing in Paris in November as a part of a world tour, would make a visit to Amiens, a metropolis with a inhabitants of 134,000.
However she is hopeful: “I might be very honored to welcome her with the portray.”
