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<h1><span style="color:#691313;"><em>&#8216;Judith Beheading Holofernes,&#8217; depicts the biblical heroine Judith beheading an Assyrian general, <strong>Holofernes</strong>. It is thought to have been painted in Rome circa 1604-05&#8242;</em></span></h1>
<h1><span style="color:#691313;">Long considered lost, the 400-year-old $142m (£100m) Caravaggio masterpiece depicting a beheading, was discovered in attic after owners went to fix a leak<br />
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">A 400-year-old painting that might have been executed by Italian master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio has been found in an attic in southern France.<br />
Eric Turquin, the French expert who retrieved the painting two years ago, says it is in an exceptional state of conservation and estimates its value at 120 million euros (about $142m 0r £100m).<br />
The picture, whose authenticity has not been established, had been left for more than 150 years in a property in the outskirts of Toulouse.</p>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7919" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/3318303300000578-3535596-image-m-27_1460457618457.jpg" alt="3318303300000578-3535596-image-m-27_1460457618457" width="634" height="472" /><strong>Caravaggio painted two versions of Judith Beaheading Holofernes, one of which is on display at the National Gallery of Ancient Art in Rome</strong></p>
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<h5 class="imageCaption"><strong><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7881" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2oytowfs9x989b5d56432efa25c8-0-auction_officer_marc_labarbe_presents_the_painting_to_the_media_-a-46_1460456128679.jpg" alt="France Art Carravaggio" width="634" height="436" /></strong><strong><br />
Eric Turquin, an a</strong>rt expert in Paris, said the unidentified Toulouse family were investigating water damage and needed to access a roof. He said: &#8216;They broke a door which they did not have a key to,&#8217; said Mr Turquin. &#8216;Behind the door was a painting that the owners did not know about&#8217;</h5>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">Called &#8216;Judith Beheading Holofernes,&#8217; it depicts the biblical heroine Judith beheading an Assyrian general. It is thought to have been painted in Rome circa 1604-05. Turquin told a press conference today that there &#8216;will never be a consensus&#8217; about the name of the artist.<br />
&#8216;Export of the painting has now been banned, and every effort is being made to confirm its precise origin,&#8217; said a culture ministry spokesman. The ministry&#8217;s official website meanwhile says: &#8216;The painting deserves to be kept on French territory as a very important landmark Caravaggio painting.&#8217;<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7886" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2oytowfs9x989b5d56432efa3552-3535596-_the_painting_could_be_worth_more_than_100_million_euros_has_bee-a-50_1460456548122.jpg" alt="France Art Carravaggio" width="634" height="473" /><strong><br />
The painting could be worth more than 100 million euros has been found in an attic in Southern France</strong></p>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">Eric Turquin, an art expert in Paris, said the unidentified Toulouse family were investigating water damage and needed to access a roof.<br />
&#8216;They broke a door which they did not have a key to,&#8217; said Mr Turquin. &#8216;Behind the door was a painting that the owners did not know about.&#8217;<br />
He said that one of the family&#8217;s ancestors – a soldier – had probably acquired the masterpiece while fighting abroad with Napoleon Bonaparte.<br />
Mr Turquin said the painting was so gory that the officer&#8217;s wife probably asked for it to be removed from her sight.<strong><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7889" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2oytowfs9x989b5d56432efa3fea-3535596-the_picture_whose_authenticity_has_not_been_established_had_been-a-49_1460456546609.jpg" alt="France Art Carravaggio" width="634" height="433" /></strong></p>
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<h5 class="mol-para-with-font"><strong>The picture, whose authenticity has not been established, had been left for more than 150 years in a property in the outskirts of Toulouse</strong></h5>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">Caravaggio painted two versions of Judith Beaheading Holofernes, one of which is on display at the National Gallery of Ancient Art in Rome.<br />
The other disappeared without trace around 100 years later, and would now be worth at least 100 million pounds.<br />
The Louvre Museum in Paris is now among world famous art institutions considering making an offer for the painting.<br />
Caravaggio was born in Milan in 1571, and became one of the great Baroque painters, working mainly in Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily.</p>
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<h5><br id="ext-gen143" class="mol-para-with-font" /><em><strong> Lets us know what you think of this article. Like? Dislike? Funny? Interesting? Cool? Drop us a line in the comment box or join us on facebook and twitter to help us give you a better reading experience</strong></em></h5>
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Gold in the attic: Long-lost $142m (£100m) masterpiece is discovered in a French attic after owners went to fix a leak Long-lost £100m Caravaggio masterpiece depicting a beheading is discovered in a French attic after owners went to fix a leak
