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 相關詞匯 【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 著名畫家桑德羅?波提切利的一幅作品“失蹤”數十年后又找到了。 據媒體報道，這幅描繪圣母瑪利亞和嬰兒耶穌的杰作是在意大利那不勒斯南部格拉尼亞諾鎮的一戶人家里發現的。 這件藝術品至少估價1.09億美元。 據信這是波提切利1510年去世前的最后一幅畫，他最著名的作品是《維納斯的誕生》和《春》。 意大利憲兵隊文化遺產保護分隊指揮官馬西米利亞諾?克羅齊說： “這幅作品此前不為公眾所知，而今將再次展出。” 專家認為，這幅 58×80 厘米的藝術品（描繪了戴著頭紗的圣母瑪利亞和坐在她腿上的嬰兒耶穌）是畫家1470年受委托為羅馬天主教會創作的。這幅畫20世紀初被掛在那不勒斯郊區圣瑪麗亞愛心教堂里，因為最初受贈畫作的教堂失火了。 第二座教堂在1982年地震時受損，教區將這幅畫轉交給當地的索馬家族，讓他們收藏在自己的私宅中。 最初幾年，當地政府時而檢查畫作的狀況，并就清潔和其他維護事項給這家人建議。 然而不知什么原因，自20世紀90年代某時起，檢查停止了，這幅畫的狀態也被列為“失蹤”。 直到今年夏天人們終于找到了索馬一家，這幅畫就一直掛在他們家里。 克羅齊說：“當局上一次檢查這幅畫已經是幾十年前的事了。從那時起，這幅畫就莫名其妙地被遺忘了。” 意大利文化部發言人說，檔案中有一份官方文件，表明這幅畫被委托給了這個家庭，因此他們不用接受任何刑事調查。 據英國《衛報》報道，專家們稱這幅畫是波提切利最鐘愛的作品之一，因為畫作圣母瑪利亞的原型據稱是藝術家的繆斯女神和疑似情人西蒙內塔?卡塔尼奧?維斯普奇，她23歲時不幸早逝。 藝術史學家佩佩?迪?馬薩說：“在財政拮據的時期，教皇將這幅畫捐給了一個鄉村教堂，以此向有權勢的美第奇家族換取經濟支持，讓他們出資完成西斯廷教堂工程。” 這幅畫修復后將在那不勒斯某國立博物館展出。(Translated by Debra) | 