$50 Million Painting on Display at Minneapolis Institute of Arts

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis Institute of Arts has unveiled its latest piece of mystery art: a $50 million painting done over 500 years ago.

It's Raphael's "Madonna of the Pinks," on loan from the National Gallery in London.

The Star Tribune reports the loan is the second of three surprises the museum is presenting for its 100th birthday celebration. It follows Vermeer's "Woman in Blue Reading a Letter," loaned by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The picture, unveiled Friday, shows a young Madonna handing pink carnations to her infant son.

It was painted about 1506 by Raffaello Santi, known as Raphael, who was then just 23 and already one of the most famous artists of Renaissance Europe.

Admission is free to see it. It will be on display until Aug. 9.