Long-lost Rubens painting sells for $2.7m at auction

"The auction house said in its promotional material that very little was known of the painting only that a peer of Rubens had made an engraving of it. Later historians described this engraving and, despite having never seen the painting, catalogued its existence. It was bought by a 19th-century French academic painter, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and passed down through his family, according to the auction house."

"Buttner said before the auction that Rubens often painted crucifixions but rarely depicted the crucified Christ as a dead body on the cross. So this is the one and only painting showing blood and water coming out of the side wound of Christ, and this is something that Rubens only painted once. Osenat said its provenance was certified through methods including X-ray imaging and pigment analysis."

Jean-Pierre Osenat discovered a long-lost 1613 Rubens painting of Jesus on the cross while preparing a Paris mansion for sale. The work, depicting a crucified Christ with blood and water from the side wound, was authenticated by German art historian Nils Buttner and verified through X-ray imaging and pigment analysis. The canvas, measuring 105.5 by 72.5 cm, likely served a private collector and traces provenance to 19th-century painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s family after being known only from a peer’s engraving. The painting sold for 2.3m ($2.7m) and reached 2.94m ($3.41m) with fees.

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