Diana and Endymion (1822) Jérôme-Martin Langlois
The mayor of a city in northern France wants Madonna to show her collection of arts. Brigitte Fouré, the mayor of Amiens, says that's because the singer owns a painting that may have been lost since World War I. "Diana and Endymion," a painting by Jérôme-Martin Langlois, was finished in 1822. Louis XVIII had it made for Versailles.
Madonna Rebel Heart Tour 2015 - Stockholm © chrisweger
The painting was first shown at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Amiens in 1878. When it was no longer there after the city was bombed in 1918, people thought it had been destroyed. Le Figaro says that in New York in 1989, Madonna bought the painting or a copy of it at auction for $1.3 million. (Her painting is missing about an inch, which means that the signature and date could have been taken off.)
In a French video message to Madonna, Fouré said, "Of course, we don't question in any way that you legally got this work." She is now asking Madonna to lend the painting to Amiens so that the city can apply to be the European Capital of Culture in 2028. (She is getting ready for a world tour this summer and won't need the painting for a while.) Fouré said, "This is a request I'd like to make to you at the start of the year." In other words, it was like a prayer that Madonna would bring the painting there.
Brigitte Fouré, Mayor of the city of Amiens (France)
Selena Mattei
| ArtMajeur Magazine