French city asks Madonna to lend it a painting lost in 1918

BRUSSELS, Jan 17 (Reuters) – The mayor of Amiens, northern France, has requested Madonna to lend town a Nineteenth-century portray misplaced throughout World Battle One which it believes could also be have been purchased by the singer, to assist its probabilities of changing into European Capital of Tradition.

The “Diana and Endymion” portray by Jerome-Martin Langlois, which depicts Roman goddess Diana wanting lovingly on the good-looking Endymion, was as soon as on show in an Amiens museum however was misplaced after Germany bombed town in 1918.

French every day Le Figaro reported that the portray, or an almost equivalent one, went on sale at an public sale in New York in 1989 the place Madonna paid $1.3 million for it.

There was no quick reply from a spokesperson for Madonna to an emailed request for remark.

Amiens, the place French President Emmanuel Macron was born, is a candidate to be European Capital of Tradition in 2028.

“We don’t dispute in any approach the authorized acquisition that you’ve got made however we’re candidates to be European Capital of Tradition in 2028. So I would love that on this event, this yr, you possibly can lend us your portray,” Amiens mayor Brigitte Foure stated in a video posted on Fb.

The portray was commissioned by French King Louis XVIII for the Diane room within the Versailles palace and acquired by the State in 1873.

Foure stated the portray was most likely lent to the Amiens museum by the Louvre earlier than World Battle One, after which Amiens misplaced hint of it.

Madonna has simply introduced European dates for her “The Celebration Tour” the place she’s going to carry out in Paris – lower than two hours by prepare from Amiens – on Nov. 11-12, 2023.

Reporting by Marine Strauss, Modifying by GV De Clercq, Alexandra Hudson

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