El Greco found in old envelope

El Greco found in old envelope:
Elderly man from north-west of Spain says El Greco's The Baptism of Christ, valued at 600 quid has been in his family for over a century.

An elderly man had responded to their ad in a Spanish newspaper, saying he had a picture that might be for sale, if Christie's would like to look at it. Paul Raison, an expert in old master paintings at Christie's, said: "He went off to hunt in a cupboard in another room, and fetch the proverbial brown envelope - and out of it came this wonderful thing. "It was filthy dirty, but it didn't take us long to conclude it must be an El Greco." The clues were in the elongated lividly white body of the Christ, the coppery thunder clouds, the barely visible crowded figures in the background, and the flickering light, all the artist's trademarks. The elderly man said The Baptism of Christ had been in his family for over a century: he had no idea where it came from before that, and was astonished at its value - estimated at up to £600,000, although it could go for more at auction in December. It has been acknowledged by El Greco experts as genuine, done when the young painter moved from his native Crete to Venice. He worked in Venice for only three years, before moving to Madrid and then Toledo. It may been part of a portable altar, commissioned by a private patron. At some point it was taken out of its arched frame, and strips of wood were added to make a rectangle. The composition is closely related to the Modena Triptych, included in the National Gallery's recent El Greco exhibition, which raises the possibility that there could be two more sections somewhere, perhaps hidden in brown envelopes.