Bulgarian art experts confirmed that the precious canvas found in the southern city Stara Zagora was painted by Italian Baroque Era Painter Lodovico Cigoli, local 24 Hours newspaper reported.

The canvas was found in a private house in Stara Zagora on October 14, 2004. At first it was reported that canvas imaging the Bible scene of "Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac" is painted by famous Venetian artist Titian.

The special expertise carried out at the National Gallery for Foreign Art proved that the canvas was painted by Titian's student Lodovico Cigoli, the article says. It is still not clear what would the price of the painting be, though some experts say that it might vary between EUR 500,000 and EUR 10 M.

Interpol declared the canvas wanted after it had been reportedly stolen from the home of a Greek art collector living in Nicosia, Cyprus, last May. However, the 24-aged man arrested in Stara Zagora and released on a 1,000 bail a day later claimed that the Greek handed the invaluable picture to him to store it and, if possible, to find buyers for it.

Lodovico Cigoli, an Italian painter, architect and poet, was born at Cigoli in Tuscany. Educated under Alessandro Allori and Santi di Tito, he formed a peculiar style by the study at Florence of Michelangelo, Correggio, Andrea del Sarto and Pontormo.

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