Museum of art and public theater in Iowa, United States discovered a 16th century painting that is believed to be worth millions of dollars in the warehouse.
Robert Warren, executive director of Hoyt Sherman Place, was the man who found the painting while looking for a civil war flag for the benefit of a museum exhibition in 2016.
While unpacking some items, Warren found the 400-year-old painting hidden behind a desk.
"I look at the bottom of Apollo and Venus," Warren said as quoted by local media Whotv.com on Thursday, March 29, 2018. "I pulled from behind the desk and saw behind the painting there is auction stickers."
After finding a painting featuring a man, a naked woman and a small child, Warren then began his research.
Warren is assisted by Barry Bauman, a Chicago-based restoration specialist, to find out the true facts behind the painting.
After more than a year of restoration, the painting turned out to be the work of Otto van Veen, a famous Dutch Flemish artist in the 16th century. The painting itself is believed to have been created around 1595 to 1600 and is titled Apollo and Venus.
The painting depicts the mythological figures of Apollo and Venus along with a little boy believed to be their son named Cupid. Venus is the goddess of love in Greek mythology, He symbolizes Roman beauty and fertility.
Apollo is seen holding a lyre (Little Harp) wearing a red shirt standing next to Venus who is painting a scene in bare conditions with Cupid in front of him. Nearby was a collection of jewelry, a basket of fruit and flowers, a rose, and a bowl of oysters.
Despite its beauty, the painting was apparently never exhibited. Warren says it's probably because it's too suggestive to Iowa citizens at the beginning of the 20th century.
This painting is believed to be one of five works of art given to Des Moines Women's Club in Hoyt Sherman by a man named Nason Collins in the 1920s.
The value of his paintings is still unclear. But it is believed to be worth US $ 4 million to US $ 11 million or Rp 55.1 billion - Rp 151.6 billion based on the sale of other artwork by van Veen. But Warren said there was no plan to sell it.
Hoyt Sherman Place held a limited exhibition of the artwork for donors and museum board members on March 21, 2018. Now the gallery plans to present it permanently to the public in July.
"People want to come and see it," Warren said. "But we have to wait until security is updated."
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, preserved the painting in the 1880s before changing hands to the Collins family, who were highly respected at the time.