An old painting found in the kitchen of an elderly French woman who considered it of little importance has sold for €24m (£20.7m) at auction.

The work, an early Renaissance masterpiece attributed to the 13th-century Italian painter Cimabue that was discovered earlier this year, was bought by an anonymous buyer near Chantilly, north of Paris.

Stephane Pinta, a painting specialist with the Turquin gallery in Paris, said an auctioneer spotted the painting in June while inspecting the woman’s house in Compiegne in northern France and suggested she bring it to experts for an evaluation.

The work, Christ Mocked, was expected to sell for €4m to €6m (£3.4m-£5.2m) on Sunday.

Art experts say the 24 cm (10in) x 20 cm (8in) piece is probably part of a larger diptych that Cimabue painted around 1280, of which two other panels are displayed at the Frick Collection in New York and the National Gallery in London.

The painting’s discovery has sent ripples of excitement throughout the art world.

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Known as The Large Glass, as it is over nine feet, it comrpises two shattered glass panels suspended vertically, which contain a mechanical-like bride, a large shape that references the Milky Way, nine bachelors in geometric shapes and mechanical objects, all painted in oil to give it colour. Gaby Av Top artworks and where to see them Andy warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans (1962), Andy Warhol at the Museum of Modern Art, New York This artwork, which consisted of 32 canvases, each painted with a Campbell soup can in different flavour, helped to introduce pop art as a major art movement in the US. It led to many more works depicting Campbell Soup cans over his career – ones with torn labels or opened lids, many being produced at The Factory, where studio assistants created them for him. 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This painting, which places the nude in an everyday setting, was a departure point for Modern Art as Manet refused to toe the line. RMN (Musée d'Orsay)/Hervé Lewandowski Top artworks and where to see them Frida Kahlo's Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940) at Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin The Mexican surrealist artist found painting self-portraits therapeutic. This one reveals her suffering; her long lasting pain after a bus accident; her infertility; her divorce from artist Diego Rivera and the end of her affair with photographer Nikolas Muray. Bursting with symbolism from Mexican folklore, it is a jigsaw puzzle of meaning. AFP/Getty Top artworks and where to see them Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas (1656) at Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain The leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age captures himself working on a large canvas in this realistic portrayal of the Spanish court, where he was court painter. The young princess Infanta Margarita Theresa is surrounded by servants, while her parents King Philip 1V of Spain and Mariana of Austria, watch the scene from a doorway. It holds plenty of mystery as to the relationship between the viewer and the characters depicted. For example, does the mirror reflect the hidden picture on the easel? Top artworks and where to see them Henri Matisse's Conversation (1908-1912) at the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg What are they talking about? It looks serious. Matisse’s oil painting depicts the artist and his wife Amelie in conversation against an intense sapphire blue colour. Matisse wears striped pyjamas, which were fashionable as leisurewear in 20th century France. It was painted in his country house, and there is a tension in the way his wife sits – understandable, given that he reportedly once told her that he loved painting more than her. Gandalf's Gallery Top artworks and where to see them Sir John Everett Millais's Ophelia (1851-1852) at Tate Britain, London A drowning Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet is slowly sinking into the stream. The Pre-Raphaelite artist recreated, with breathtaking attention to detail, the consequence of Hamlet’s murder of her father. His 19-year old model, Lizzie Siddal, nearly died of a cold from lying in a bath fully clothed for hours, long after oil lamps used to keep the bath water warm went out. The artist did not notice but ended up paying her doctor’s bills. John Everett Millais

“When a unique work of a painter as rare as Cimabue comes to market, you have to be ready for surprises. This is the only Cimabue that has ever come on the market,” said Dominique Le Coent, head of auction house Acteon in Senlis, 40km (25 miles) north of Paris.

The auctioneer said the sale price represented a “world record for a primitive, or a pre-1500 work”.

“It’s a painting that was unique, splendid and monumental. Cimabue was the father of the Renaissance. But this sale goes beyond all our dreams.”

Cimabue, who taught the Italian master Giotto, is widely considered the forefather of the Italian Renaissance. He broke from the Byzantine style popular in the Middle Ages and began to incorporate elements of movement and perspective that came to characterise western painting.

Until recently, the work hung on a wall between the kitchen and the dining room in a house in Compiegne. Its owner, who is in her nineties and wants to remain anonymous, had considered it of little importance but it has now made her a multimillionaire.

Specialists at the Turquin gallery initially examined the painting and concluded with “certitude” that it bore the hallmarks of Cimabue.

Mr Pinta pointed to likenesses in facial expressions and buildings, as well as the painter’s techniques for conveying light and distance.