A previously unknown portrait by Pablo Picasso of one of his lovers was revealed on Thursday after being put up for sale at auction in Paris with a reserve price of eight million euros ($9.5 million).

Entitled “Bust of a woman with a flowery hat”, it depicts Dora Maar, a French photographer, painter and poet who was Picasso’s best-known muse.

Painted with oil, the colourful work measuring 80 x 60 centimetres (31 x 24 inches) “is valued at around eight million euros, a reserve price that could soar,” according to auctioneer Christophe Lucien at Parisian auction house Drouot.

It was painted by Picasso on July 11, 1943, and acquired in August 1944 by a French collector who is the grandfather of the current owners.

Agnes Sevestre-Barbe, a Picasso specialist present during the unveiling of

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