Sign In
Sign In
Register for Free
PrimarySecondaryCitizenship ...

Topical Tuesdays from The Week Junior – Found Painting Sells for £20m

Key Stage

KS2, KS3

Age

Years 3-9

Subjects

Topical Tuesdays from The Week Junior offers fascinating news stories with free teaching activities every week.

Click here to download more free resources in this series.


In the latest Topical Tuesday we’re looking at a painting that was found in a French that sold for £20 million.

The painting was created in the 13th century, and became the most expensive medieval painting ever sold.

It is called The Mocking of Christ and is by the Italian artist Cimabue. It is thought to date back to the year 1280 and is one part of a polyptych, which is a painting that has been divided into a series of panels.

Despite its huge price at auction, the painting itself is very small – just 20 centimetres by 26 centimetres. Other panels from this series are on display at the National Gallery in London and the Frick Collection in New York, in the US.

The painting was discovered as an elderly woman was preparing to move out of her home in the French town of Compiègne. The woman, who asked for her identity to be kept secret, said she didn’t know where the painting had come from.

Before she moved, an expert called Philomène Wolf visited the house to see if there were any valuable items that could be sold, otherwise it would all have been thrown away.

It was predicted that the painting would sell for around £5 million. However, on the day of the auction – which attracted a crowd of 800 people – an unnamed buyer paid four times that amount.

This PDF resource includes this article, as well as accompanying activity ideas:

  • Debate whether rich collectors should be allowed to keep artistic masterpieces locked away in private homes where the general public can’t see them
  • Write a funny story about something you’ve painted being found years later and sold for millions
  • Have you been to a gallery or museum? Write a descriptive piece about it and the things you saw
  • Research the five most expensive paintings ever sold, listing the title, artist and price, and writing a brief description of each

To find out more about The Week Junior and to download its free resources, please go to schools.theweekjunior.co.uk.

Find the whole range of free Topical Tuesday resources here.

DOWNLOAD A FREE RESOURCE!
Topical Tuesdays from The Week Junior – Found Painting Sells for £20m
PrimarySecondaryCitizenship ...

You'll also receive regular updates from Teachwire with free lesson plans, great new teaching ideas, offers and more. (You can unsubscribe at any time.)

Which sectors are you interested in?

By signing up you agree to our Terms & Conditions and privacy policy

Explore teaching packs

Pie Corbett Ultimate KS2 Fiction Collection
Pie Corbett Ultimate KS2 Fiction Collection
Fire up KS2 pupils' imagination with this collection of 20+ fictional stories, written by literacy expert Pie Corbett. Each ... more
20 x resources
Pie Corbett KS2 Non-Fiction Collection
Use Pie Corbett’s non-fiction texts to inspire your KS2 pupils to get writing. Each resource contains an original text in ... more
6 x resources
Pie Corbett KS2 Poetry Collection
Inspire KS2 pupils to be creative and express themselves with this pack of Pie Corbett poetry. Each of these Pie Corbett Tal... more
7 x resources
WAGOLL classroom resources
WAGOLL Packs from Real Authors
Peer inside the mind of award-winning children's authors and help pupils understand how to create engaging characters, capti... more
7 x resources
Art KS2 inspiring medium term plans
Art KS2 Inspiring Medium Term Plans
Get pupils' creative juices flowing with these expert medium-term art plans for KS2. Each resource consists of a full half-t... more
6 x resources
Magical Harry Potter Teaching Ideas
Magical Harry Potter Teaching Ideas
Spark pupils' imaginations with these inventive and exciting teaching ideas, all themed around the wonderful world of Harry ... more
11 x resources