This work, Madonna and Child with St. Joseph, by Ludovico Mazzolino has been rediscovered after being left in storage for nearly 60 years. A photograph of the work was sent to an auctioneer, who identified it as the work of Mazzolino. It seems this work is genuine, and has a solid history. Guy Schwinge, an auctioneer at Duke’s of Dorchester said:
“With the help of the National Gallery we have been able to identify that it was last sold at public auction three years before Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo.“
The seller is a pensioner from Cheltenham, who put the work into storage in 1950. He received it from his great grandmother who bought it in Italy in 1862, and it had been sold at auction in London in 1812 for only £20.
Lost Renaissance Work Discovered [BBC News, Sep. 21, 2009].
