France Blocks Export of Prized $26.6 M. Cimabue Painting

After setting a record when it sold at auction outside Paris earlier this year, a painting by Cimabue, a giant in the history of medieval art, won’t be leaving France anytime soon.
On Monday, the French state blocked the export of the Cimabue painting, Christ Mocked (ca. 1280). The painting must now remain in France for the next 30 months, and the country is hoping to be able to raise the funds to acquire the work. If the work is successfully bought by the French state, it could join a rel