The French city of Amiens has appealed to Madonna to lend it a painting it lost in 1918 – because she bought it in 1989.
Madonna has revealed she will head out on a world tour later this year, making a stop in nearby Paris – with the mayor of Amiens hoping the Queen of Pop can help it improve its chance of becoming the European Capital of Culture.
Diana and Endymion by Jerome-Martin Langlois shows Roman goddess Diana looking passionately at Endymion, with what appears to be Cupid in between them.
It was once on display in Amiens’ museum, but was lost after a German bombing campaign in 1918.
However, according to French newspaper Le Figaro, the painting, or one very similar, went on sale in New York in 1989 – where Madonna paid $1.3m (£1.05m) for it.
Amiens, the birthplace of French President Emmanuel Macron, is a candidate to be the 2028 European Capital of Culture.
In a video posted on Facebook, Amiens’ mayor, Brigitte Foure, said: “We do not dispute in any way the legal acquisition that you have made, but we are candidates to be European Capital of Culture in 2028.
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“So I would like that on this occasion, this year, you could lend us your painting.”
Ms Foure suspects the painting was lent to the city by the Louvre in Paris before the First World War, but the gallery lost track of it.
Diana and Endymion was commissioned by King Louis XVIII, and bought by the state in 1873.
Sky News has reached out to Madonna’s representatives for a response.
