A painting by the famous artist Sandro Botticelli — one believed to be missing for decades — has been discovered.

The masterpiece depicting the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus was discovered in a family home in the Italian town of Gragnano, south of Naples, according to media reports.

The artwork is estimated to be worth at least US$109 million. It is believed to be one of the final paintings by the artist, who died in 1510 and is best known for “The Birth of Venus” and “Primavera.”

“This is a work totally unknown to the public; it will now be exhibited again,” said Massimiliano Croce, commander of the Italian Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit.

Experts believe the 58-by-80-centimeter artwork — which depicts the Virgin Mary covering her hair with a veil as Jesus sits on her lap — was commissioned for the Roman Catholic Church in 1470. It hung in a church in the Neapolitan suburb of Santa Maria la Carità sometime in the early 1900s after the church it was originally given to caught fire. The second church was damaged in a 1982 earthquake, prompting the parish to pass the painting to a local Somma family to care for the masterpiece in their private home.

For the first few years, local authorities made themselves available to inspect its condition and advise the family on cleaning and otherwise maintaining it.

However, for an undetermined reason, authorities stopped coming by sometime in the 1990s — and the painting was listed as missing.

This is until this past summer when the piece was finally traced back to the Somma family, who had continued to display the artwork in their houses.

“The last time the authorities had inspected the private residence where the Botticelli painting was kept was decades ago,” Croce said. “Since then, inexplicably, the painting had been forgotten by the authorities.”

A spokesman for the Italian Ministry of Culture said that there is an official decree on file that entrusts the painting to the family, clearing the family from any criminal investigation.

Experts claim the painting was one of Botticelli’s most beloved works because his rendition of the Virgin Mary was allegedly inspired by Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci, the artist’s muse and suspected lover, who died at age 23, according to The Guardian.

“The pope donated it to a small countryside church as a tribute to obtain economic support from the powerful Medici family to finance the completion of the Sistine Chapel during a period when the pope was struggling financially,” said Peppe Di Massa, an art historian.

The painting will eventually be exhibited in one of the national museums in Naples after restoration.(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【莫名其妙地】mòmíngqímiào de inexplicably in a way that cannot be explained or accounted for

【教堂】jiàotáng chapel a building for Christian worship

著名画家桑德罗•波提切利的一幅作品“失踪”数十年后又找到了。

据媒体报道，这幅描绘圣母玛利亚和婴儿耶稣的杰作是在意大利那不勒斯南部格拉尼亚诺镇的一户人家里发现的。

这件艺术品至少估价1.09亿美元。

据信这是波提切利1510年去世前的最后一幅画，他最著名的作品是《维纳斯的诞生》和《春》。

意大利宪兵队文化遗产保护分队指挥官马西米利亚诺•克罗齐说：

“这幅作品此前不为公众所知，而今将再次展出。”

专家认为，这幅 58×80 厘米的艺术品（描绘了戴着头纱的圣母玛利亚和坐在她腿上的婴儿耶稣）是画家1470年受委托为罗马天主教会创作的。这幅画20世纪初被挂在那不勒斯郊区圣玛丽亚爱心教堂里，因为最初受赠画作的教堂失火了。

第二座教堂在1982年地震时受损，教区将这幅画转交给当地的索马家族，让他们收藏在自己的私宅中。

最初几年，当地政府时而检查画作的状况，并就清洁和其他维护事项给这家人建议。

然而不知什么原因，自20世纪90年代某时起，检查停止了，这幅画的状态也被列为“失踪”。

直到今年夏天人们终于找到了索马一家，这幅画就一直挂在他们家里。

克罗齐说：“当局上一次检查这幅画已经是几十年前的事了。从那时起，这幅画就莫名其妙地被遗忘了。”

意大利文化部发言人说，档案中有一份官方文件，表明这幅画被委托给了这个家庭，因此他们不用接受任何刑事调查。

据英国《卫报》报道，专家们称这幅画是波提切利最钟爱的作品之一，因为画作圣母玛利亚的原型据称是艺术家的缪斯女神和疑似情人西蒙内塔•卡塔尼奥•维斯普奇，她23岁时不幸早逝。

艺术史学家佩佩•迪•马萨说：“在财政拮据的时期，教皇将这幅画捐给了一个乡村教堂，以此向有权势的美第奇家族换取经济支持，让他们出资完成西斯廷教堂工程。”

这幅画修复后将在那不勒斯某国立博物馆展出。(Translated by Debra)