Lost Monet found gathering dust in Louvre

A WATER lilies painting by Claude Monet that once belonged to a Japanese collector but was lost for decades after the Second World War has been found hidden in the Louvre.

The oil painting, called Water Lilies:

Reflection of Willows, was reportedly discovered by a researcher rolled up in the corner of a storage facility.

Monet’s artworks are among the most expensive in the world, with one of his celebrated water lilies paintings selling for £32million at auction in 2014.

The canvas once belonged to Kojiro Matsukata, a Japanese business tycoon and prolific art collector, who is thought to have bought it from the artist before the war.

The 1916 painting, which measures more than 13ft by 6.5ft, disappeared after he sent it to Paris for safe keeping ahead of the Second World War.

During the war, Mr Matsukata’s collection was requisitioned by the French government as enemy property, before the artworks were returned to Japan by the French government in 1959.

Since its discovery last year, the painting has been returned to Japan, where experts are restoring it.