Home / Funny / Viral / Family Shockingly Discovers TV Room Painting Is Actual Masterpiece Worth $845K

FAMILY SHOCKINGLY DISCOVERS TV ROOM PAINTING IS ACTUAL MASTERPIECE WORTH $845K

A family in northern France  had a painting  in their living room with a television that they thought was a copy of a famous work by Pieter Brueghel the Younger. The painting has been in the family since 1900. However, if the family ever learned the truth, knowledge of their true worth seems to have faded over the years. This turns out to be a real Brueghel masterpiece, a Northern Renaissance masterpiece called The Village Lawyer. 

 The family, whose names have not been released, only learned the truth after they invited an appraiser to search their home for antiques. “I came into the small TV room, which was not very well lit. I started  my appraisal in the living room and when I turned outside the door I saw two-thirds of the painting," Malo de Lussac of the  Daguerre Val de Loire auction house told AP News. “And then I actually discovered the painting. It was a bit unexpected."

The family knew  the painting was a Brueghel work  but believed it to be a copy. "The family's ancestors bought the painting as an original, but over the years the true story was completely lost through word of mouth... Perhaps the family wasn't particularly interested in this painting," he continued. "Yes, they called it  Brueghel, but they had no idea what it really was!"

Three experts in Paris independently confirmed the authenticity of the painting. It dates from between 1615 and 1617, when  Brueghel was middle-aged and living in Antwerp. Brueghel's father was also a Flemish painter, known as Brueghel the Elder. Both father and son were artists of the Northern Renaissance, the heyday of art in Northern Europe.

The newly discovered  painting is one of several versions  by the artist. It depicts a scene where the peasants wait for a lawyer (sometimes thought of as a tax collector) while he is surrounded by stacks of papers and money. Brueghel was known for painting such scenes of village life as sermons and wedding processions. This work  is particularly large for Brueghel: 44 inches high and 72.4 inches wide.

After the certification, the work was auctioned at Drouot in Paris, where it was estimated at 600,000 to 800,000 euros. An anonymous Swiss buyer won a prize worth 780,000 euros, or approximately $845,000. However, de Lussac is unlikely to recover from his excitement at the find, as he says: “[It] was the most important moment of my career. But of course I was careful. After all, it's pretty rare to see a Brueghel hanging in a TV room."

LATEST
A Rare Zebra Born With Spots Instead Of Stripes
Faithful Dog Stays With Lost Boy Every Step Through The Woods
Scientists Revive 32 Thousand Year Old Plant From Siberian Permafrost
Unfinished Obelisk Displays The Incredible Engineering Of Ancient Egypt 3500 Years Ago
More Than 100 Golden Retrievers Will Honour Official Boston Marathon Dog Spencer
Vesuvius Challenge Offers 1 Million To Whoever Deciphers Charred Scrolls From Pompeii
NASA Reveals Their Astronauts Flying To The Moon Next Year
Skier Stumbles Upon a Snowboarder Who Got Stuck In The Snow Head Down
Deepest Fish In The Ocean Captured On Camera For The First Time