20 July 2023 , 23:24
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A abandoned apartment has been frozen in time after its owner fled before the outbreak of World War II.
The Paris apartment remained untouched for decades – with its eerie interior left exactly as its 91-year-old resident had left it.
Images from the property in Paris’s ninth arrondissement even show a lonely Mikey Mouse toy left behind by former owner Mrs De Florian’s.
After the conflict ended, Mrs De Florian’s did not return home - with furniture and possessions left in place for years untouched - despite Mrs Florian continuing to unknowingly pay bills for the property.
Layers of dust and grime now coating her treasures after years of being forgotten in the hime located near a church in Paris’s ninth arrondissement, between Pigalle red light district and Opera, reports the Daily Star.
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Once the treasure trove was brought to light, experts began cataloguing her possessions which included work from the 19th-century Italian artist Giovanni Boldini.
The Paris apartment is full of weird and wonderful objects (AFP/GETTY)
Having lain untouched for seven decades the abandoned home was discovered three years ago after its owner died aged 91 (AFP/GETTY)According to the Daily Mail, one expert described the scene as like stumbling into the castle of Sleeping Beauty.
Olivier Choppin-Janvry, who made the discovery described the smell of “old dust” when they entered the building - adding that his heart skipped a beat when they caught sight of the stunning tableau of a woman in a pink muslin evening dress.
The painting was based on the artist's former muse, De Florian’s grandmother, Marthe de Florian, a French actress and socialite of the Belle Époque.
Marthe de Florian reportedly had a long list of ardent admirers whose fervent love letters she kept wrapped neatly in ribbon and were still on the premises.
Caked in dust and full of turn-of-the century treasures, this Paris apartment is like going back in time (AFP/GETTY)The expert had a hunch the painting was by Boldini but needed help finding a record of the painting - while no books referenced the tableau according to Marc Ottavi, an art specialist who consulted on the work.
When Mr Choppin-Janvry found a visiting card with a scribbled love note from Boldini, he knew he had struck gold.
According to the Daily Mail, he said: “We had the link and I was sure at that moment that it was indeed a very fine Boldini'.
The woman who owned the flat, a Mrs De Florian, had fled for the south of France before the outbreak of the Second World War (AFP/GETTY)He finally found a reference to the work in a book by the artist's widow, which said it was painted in 1898 when Miss de Florian was 24.
At auction, the painting was put up with a starting bid of £253,000 but skyrocketed for an incredible £ 1.78 million – a record for the artist's work.
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“It was a magic moment. One could see that the buyer loved the painting; he paid the price of passion,” said Mr Ottavi.