Long-lost Rubens painting sells for 2.9 million euros at Versailles auction
A long-lost painting by Flemish master Pieter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) has sold for 2.94 million euros at an auction in Versailles, near Paris. The work, titled "Christ on the Cross", had been estimated at between 1 and 2 million euros.
The canvas resurfaced last September, when auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat discovered it during the inventory and sale of a Parisian mansion. Dating from 1613, the painting had been missing for centuries. Osenat described the find as an "extremely rare" event.
The painting shows the crucified Christ standing out luminously against a dark, turbulent sky. According to Osenat, the work "marks the very beginning of Baroque painting".
Its authenticity was confirmed by professor Nils Büttner, a specialist in German, Flemish and Dutch art of the 15th and 16th centuries, and president of the Rubenianum in Antwerp, an institution dedicated to Rubens’ oeuvre and closely linked to the artist’s former studio.
Rubens painted the crucified Christ at least three other times, with the best-known version housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
#FlandersNewsService | PHOTO © Ian LANGSDON / AFP
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