How a lost renaissance painting worth $25MILLION could be hanging on the wall of a Melbourne home

How a lost renaissance painting worth $25MILLION could be hanging on the wall of a Melbourne home

  • Paolo Veronese’s The Pool of Bethesda painting valued at whopping $25 million
  • Believed missing painting could be hanging on wall of mystery Melbourne home
  • Last seen in 1877, with the renaissance painting believed to represent healing


A lost renaissance painting now valued at a whopping $25million could be comfortably perched on the wall of a suburban Melbourne home, according to expert art researchers.

Paolo Veronese’s The Pool of Bethesda – once owned by Russian Empress Catherine the Great – hasn’t been spotted in public since art enthusiast Robert Black attempted to sell the masterpiece at the Melbourne Athenaeum way back in 1877.

At the time, Melbourne had countless conmen circulating in art circles, so the trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria cast serious doubt on Mr Black’s claim. 

Paolo Veronese’s The Pool of Bethesda (pictured) has been valued at $25 million – and could be pride of place on the wall in a suburban Melbourne home. It hasn’t been seen in public since 1877

University of Melbourne Professor Emeritus Jaynie Anderson and fellow art detective, emeritus professor Roderick Home – recently unearthed the minutes from a trustees meeting staged on September 9, 1877, The Australian reports.

The trustees present at the meeting stated they were ‘not prepared to consider the question of the purchase of this picture without satisfactory proof of its authenticity, and value, as an example of the Great Master’.

Professor Anderson is hopeful the elusive renaissance painting can eventually be located – and put on display at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Boasting a size of 3.35m x 1.9m, it is larger than most traditional paintings. 

University of Melbourne Professor Emeritus Jaynie Anderson (pictured) believes due to the large size of the painting it is unlikely to be gathering dust inside an attic

University of Melbourne Professor Emeritus Jaynie Anderson (pictured) believes due to the large size of the painting it is unlikely to be gathering dust inside an attic

‘I mean if a painting is small and someone doesn’t like it – say they’ve inherited it or something – they stuff it in the attic or a cupboard or something but this is huge,’ art historian and curator Prof Anderson said. 

Renowned artist Veronese was famed for his creations, which inspired subsequent large-scale ceiling and mural paintings in Venice, Italy, and across other parts of the world for centuries.

The multi-million dollar painting is said to represent healing. 

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk