Old master oil painting 'worth £3m' found dumped in Swansea storeroom

Meleager and Atalanta by Jacob Jordaens was originally believed to be an 18th century copy

The version of Meleager and Atalanta in the Prado museum in Madrid, Spain (Creative Commons)

A 300-year-old painting by an old master, thought to be worth up to £3 million, has been discovered in a storeroom in Swansea.

Meleager and Atalanta by Jacob Jordaens, a leading 17th century Flemish painter, is believed to have belonged to the Swansea Museum for nearly 150 years.

The painting, which appears to have been partially painted over by a restorer, was listed on the Art UK website along with 200,000 other works but its author was listed as unknown.

After spotting the painting on the website, art historian and presenter of BBC1’s Fake or Fortune, Bendor Grosvenor, became suspicious and began researching whether it was by Jordaens for his new programme.

He told The Sunday Times: “I’m bit of a nerd when it comes to looking through websites and catalogues.

“I saw this one and had strong suspicions.”

A label on the back of the painting said it was an 18th century copy but after it was cleaned it was sent to the Courtauld Institute where experts analysed the frame and dated it to between 1619 and 1622.

Mr Grosvenor said the work matched another painting by Jordaens of the mythical hunter Atalanta and her lover Meleager which is currently in the Prado art gallery in Madrid, Spain.

He said the Swansea painting was “Jordaens trying out his ideas before he did the one which is now in Madrid”.

The story of the painting will be told during the first episode of Mr Grosvenor’s series Britain’s Lost Masterpieces on BBC4 on Wednesday and will go on display at the museum next month.