Work of Dutch master found in the attic in Iowa

des moines - In an attic of the museum Hoyt Sherman Place in the American state of Iowa a painting by the Dutch master Otto van Veen was discovered. The work bears the name Apollo and Venus and was probably made in the year 1600.

Robert Warren, the director of the museum, discovered the work when he went looking for flags from the American civil war in the attic. 'The assumption was that it was also tucked away because it needed some repair work,' he says to the local channel WHOTV.

Van Veen was born in 1557 in Leiden. He is best known as a teacher of Peter Paul Rubens. His paintings are sold at auctions for millions.

The painting was wedged in a corner between the table and a wall and was badly damaged, among other things by water stains. Because of the damage it is probably never exhibited. The painting has since been restored and is being given a place in the museum, according to Warren. It is not known what the value of work is.