German museum rejoices over Durer found at flea market Published duration 6 August 2016

image copyright AFP

A German art gallery says a print by Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer that was donated by a man who found it at a flea market is in very good condition.

The print, entitled Mary Crowned by an Angel, was bought for a few euros in the eastern French town of Sarrebourg.

The buyer saw the stamp of Stuttgart's Staatsgalerie on its back, and decided to donate it a few days ago.

The man came "personally with his wife" to return the engraving, a museum spokesperson told AFP news agency.

The copperplate print, which had been missing since World War Two, appeared to have been wrapped up for a long time, keeping it in good condition, Anette Frankenberger added.

She said the museum had not decided how to put it on display. "We have to find the right setting to present it in," she told AFP.

Durer, born in 1471, was a major painter and printmaker who introduced Renaissance art to Germany and northern Europe.