THE TELEGRAPH: An Old Master painting of a semi-naked woman, consigned to an attic for 200 years because it was considered too risqué for display, has sold for more than £2.8 million at auction.
An anonymous bidder paid three times the estimate for Portrait of a Lady as Flora, by Italian Giambattista Tiepolo, at Christie's in London.
The mid-18th century picture provocatively shows the woman's exposed left breast.
Richard Knight, international director of Christie's Old Master Department, described it as "one of the most exciting and extraordinary discoveries of recent years".
He said it had been found in the attic of a French chateau "where it had been hidden by the grandparents of the present owners due to the semi-naked subject".
He added "The painting has lain untouched in the same private collection for over 200 years, and as a result it remains breathtakingly similar to the way it would have been immediately after it left the artist's easel. >>> By Stephen Adams, Arts Correspondent | December 3, 2008
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