This story begins in March 1918, during World War I, when the Germans bombed Amiens for 28 days and 28 nights. They destroyed much of the Musée des Beaux-Arts - now Musée de Picardie. In order to try to save the heritage, many works were removed and taken to a safe place. When, after the war, they returned to the museum, the painting “Diana et Endymion”, by Jérôme-Martin Langlois, was missing. It was classified, first, as “untraceable since the return of the works removed in 1918”, and, later, as “destroyed by a bomb falling on the museum”. But not. The work will be in the possession of the artist Madonna since 1989. This story was recently revealed by Le Figaro, which gave rise to a special request. Some specialists doubt it and have said that the painting that is at Madonna's house - which can be seen on social networks - is three centimeters less than the original - but there are those who advance that part may have been cut to eliminate the date and author's signature.
Madonna will have acquired the work in 1989 at an auction at Sotheby's in New York - for 1.3 million dollars. This week, the 'case' gained a new outline. On Facebook, the mayor of Amiens left a request to Madonna: that she lend the painting to the city.
"Our inhabitants could rediscover this work and appreciate it", argued the mayor who took legal action against "unknown persons" for the theft of the painting. But mayor Brigitte Fouré says Madonna doesn't have to worry: "Clearly, we do not dispute in any way that she acquired this work legally." “I thought it would be a good idea to ask Madonna if she could lend us this painting that we haven't seen since the First World War. The painting was sold at a perfectly legal auction; she bought it and owns it. I'm not asking you to give us the work, but just lend it for a few weeks", he says.