A Mondrian painting has been upside down for 77 years

A painting by Dutch abstract painter Piet Mondrian has been hanging upside down for 77 years.

The 1941 painting, titled New York City I, was first put on display at New York’s MoMA in 1945, and has hung in Dusseldorf since 1980.

Curator Susan Meyer-Buser was undertaking research for a new show on the artist earlier this year when she noticed the lines on the picture were thicker at the bottom, while the lines on a similar painting had thickening lines at the top. A photo of the artists studio soon after his death in 1944 has since been unearthed, showing the painting the other way up.

Richard Polsy from Richard Polsky Art Authentication says the artists intended meaning is lost when a picture is hung incorrectly.

“The problem is that everyone thinks modern art is a big joke and this just reinforces it,” he told Ross and Russel.

Press PLAY blow to hear why it matters that the painting was hung upside down 

Image: HENNING KAISER/DDP/AFP via Getty Images