A painting from a flea market turned out to be the work of a contemporary of da Vinci (4 photos)

"I went to an online auction site and waited patiently for the bids to start coming in," says Matt Winter. The painting he was given at a flea market 13 years ago turned out to be a 500-year-old original.





"Gradually the amounts started to increase: £1,000, £5,000 and even over £10,000. In the end, my painting sold for £26,500. It's hard to believe that something I found at a local flea market 13 years ago could be so valuable."



"I've been into antiques since I was 10. I had little interest in the material value of such items. I liked the idea of ​​being a person who saves things, and I even created my own "antique shop" in my aunt's barn. My collection started with an old red chopper motorcycle. I searched for things in dumps, in charity shops. But it was at 11 that I made my best find."

"We went to a flea market in Cranbrook. I watched people opening the trunks of their cars, exposing bags of unwanted stuff. And then I saw it - a large painting of a knight in armor on horseback with a dog, galloping past the devil and death. I plucked up the courage to ask the woman who had displayed the painting if she was going to throw it out. She nodded and I said, "Can I have it?" She seemed surprised to get rid of it. She literally beamed and said, "Of course! Please have it." I took it to my shed, framed it, and it has taken pride of place in my collection."

Thirteen years later, Matt approached the director of an auction house in Lichfield to find out more about his painting and see how much it might be worth.

"When I showed him the painting, he was so amazed that he started shaking. It turned out to be the original masterpiece, Knight, Death and the Devil, by a contemporary of Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci and one of the most revered artists of the Renaissance, Albrecht Dürer."

"I couldn't believe what Jim was telling me. It wasn't until he took the painting to the British Museum to have it authenticated that I was convinced."

Dürer painted the painting first, then made a copperplate engraving in 1513.



In September this year, Winter made £26,500 for a gift from a flea market.

The winner of the auction was a collector from Germany. Dürer was German, so you could say the painting is coming home.