A rare Renaissance panel over a French fireplace, acquired by the Louvre.

In 2019, there was quite a stir in the press surrounding a rare gold panel painted by the medieval Italian master Cimabue. This painting was discovered in the kitchen of an elderly French woman, where it was used for decoration and hung directly above the stove.

Brought to auction in northern Paris in October that year, the treasure caused a real fight to buy it and was sold for a whopping €24.2 million ($26.8 million) including commission. The merchant who purchased the painting was a foreign party, presumably a collection of Italian Alana "primitives" privately owned by Alvaro Saieja and Ana Guzman of Delaware, according to The Art Newspaper.

In the immediate aftermath, the ministry''Culture France declared the work The Mocking of Christ (circa 1280) a "national treasure" and imposed a ban on its exportation out of the country for 30 months. That gave the Louvre in Paris enough time to raise €24 million to match the winning bid and acquire the painting.

In a statement about the news, Louvre director Laurence de Carre said the work "is a milestone in the history of art and signifies a fascinating transition from icon to painting." He confirmed that it will soon hang alongside "Maestà," a larger tempera painting by Cimabue, also created around 1280 and currently under restoration at the museum.

Eight scenes from the Passion of Christ

This work has been in the museum's collection since 1813 and''was stolen from Italy during the Napoleonic era.

The sale of this painting made a French woman a millionaire, but she died just two days later and her inheritance was divided among three heirs.

The acquisition of Victor Hugo's "Marine Terrace".

The Louvre has also announced the recent acquisition of the work 'Marine''Abu Dhabi.

The paintings will be presented to the public at a special exhibition and event program scheduled for early 2025.