LOST AND FOUND

This French City Wants to Borrow a Painting from Madonna

The 19th century painting, which was lost amid German bombing in 1918, was purchased by Madonna at an auction in 1989.

A French city had a rather unique request request for Madonna on Monday—asking the pop star if she would allow it to borrow a 19th century painting, which was once displayed in a museum there but was lost when Germans bombed the area in 1918. A representative for the city, Amiens, made the plea via a Facebook video Monday. Entitled Diana and Endymion, the work was painted by French Neoclassicist Jerome-Martin Langlois and reportedly purchased by Madonna at an auction in 1989. “We do not dispute in any way the legal acquisition that you have made, but we are candidates to be European Capital of Culture in 2028,” Brigitte Foure, the mayor of Amiens, said in the video. “So I would like that on this occasion, this year, you could lend us your painting.” Madonna has yet to respond.