Michelangelo under the sofa, or the Amazing discoveries of the great masterpieces

If you are cleaning, you will find a pile of rubbish in the attic or in the garage picture in a dusty frame or crumpled figure, don't count it in the garbage. It is possible that in your hands was lost a long time ago, the masterpiece of the great master, and you become a millionaire.

Unknown Van Gogh

In the 30-ies of XX century at the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam twice visited an elderly couple with a small pattern in shades of green. The couple insisted on the fact that quite a large canvas in a distressed wooden frame is an unknown work of the great Dutch artist called "Sunset".

Vincent van Gogh "Sunset at Montague", 1888

Both times, the experts on the paintings of van Gogh off the elderly, on the grounds that their "masterpiece" only a clumsy imitation of the great master. The evidence cited the fact that the painting was not signed, and in addition scribbled on the back of the figures "180" had no marks.

But the venerable agogood was wrong – "Sunset" really belonged to the brush of van Gogh, and the figure on the reverse was written by the hand of his brother Theo who carried out the inventory of a genius after his tragic death. Theo's brother lived only a few months, after which the painting passed to his wife, who, needing money, sold it in 1901 to the unknown connoisseur.

Presentation of previously unknown paintings by van Gogh

After that the canvas many times changed the owner, and nobody doubted its authenticity. But one day, another the owners boasted a picture of his friend, the Ambassador of the French Ambassador in Sweden. The diplomat, who had the reputation of a specialist in painting, convinced everyone that they own a forgery, and the picture was in the attic.

After the death of the hosts 'Sunset', their heirs tried once again to convince the critics of its authenticity and again failed. Only in 2013, the painting "Sunset in Montague" (her full name) was officially recognized and took pride of place in the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

70 years locked up

A few years ago, in an abandoned apartment located in the heart of Paris, was found a collection of paintings of the XIX century. In the room no one had entered for over 70 years, since the hostess left France on the eve of the Second world war and so home and never returned.

The very Parisian apartment

When it became known that the owner of the property died in exile, the lawyer handed over the keys of the apartment to the heirs, who did not expect to find in a dusty, prolonged web of housing many valuable artworks.

Giovanni Boldini. Portrait of actress Martha de Florian at 24 years of age. 1898

The most significant painting from the abandoned apartment complex turned out to be a beautiful woman's portrait, painted by Giovanni Boldini, an impressionist of the late nineteenth century. Experts have estimated in 300 thousand dollars, but the auction is unknown admirer bought it for $ 2.1 million.

Ural Rubens

Did you know that in the vaults of the Museum of the Russian town of Irbit is kept the painting of Peter Paul Rubens "the penitent Mary Magdalene with her sister Martha"? Got a great work of art in the Urals in the 70-ies of the last century, as a gift to the city from the Hermitage.

For the Soviet era, such a move is not unusual — large museums often shared their exhibits with the periphery. Unusual is: since the donation of a beautiful painting for more than 40 years collecting dust in the vaults of the Museum and never exhibited. The majority of Erbakan did not know that their glorious labor feats of the city is kept a masterpiece of world renown.

Michelangelo from under the sofa

Once the American military retiree Martin Kober reached for some of the need under your couch, where of old wrappers and dry spiders found a picture of Michelangelo's "Madonna mourning of Christ". A former military pilot who visited dozens of countries, and could not remember which trip he brought the canvas.

Michelangelo's "Madonna mourning of Christ", 1545

It is precisely known that at one time was hung on the wall, until the son of Martin did not hit it with a tennis ball. After this element of the decor away from sin hid under the couch and gradually forgot about it. No one could imagine that the canvas now and, despite the fact that the Renaissance artist had not completed it, is worth millions of dollars.The newfound "Savior of the world"

In private collections and museums around the world kept dozens of paintings by Michelangelo and more than a hundred paintings by Raphael. But the genius of Leonardo da Vinci though, and gave the world many things, but left only a few paintings. According to various estimates, remained 15 or 17 paintings of the great Leonardo, and the whereabouts of some of them is not known.

Leonardo da Vinci's "the Savior of the world". Around 1500

The painting "Savior of the world" was not included in the number of "live" works of the great painter, as it was considered irretrievably lost. The last mention of the painting found in the documents of the XVII century, after which its traces were lost. These paintings of Italian as "Monna the bath" which was a naked version of "Mona Lisa" and "the Battle of Anghiari" was destroyed and "the Savior of the world" just disappeared as if it never existed.

Found a "Savior" quite by accident, during the restoration of the painting that everyone thought was a good fake paintings of the Salvator Mundi. Dark, heavily damaged paintings were acquired by several businessmen at the auction at a ridiculous price and given to the restorers to clean away dirt and grime.

Like the rest of Leonardo's paintings, the painting "the Saviour of the world" is not too large

The name of the author suggested this ball

Specialists in the restoration of paintings was amazed when under layers of mud found in the hand of Jesus surprisingly accurately drawn glass ball, which accurately determined the hand of Leonardo. Now the "Savior of the world", which could hang around in the lobby or in the stairwell of a large office, is one of the most expensive paintings on the planet, for which the auction gave $ 450 million.