"Created in 1613, the painting shows Jesus Christ on the cross, a subject the Flemish Baroque Master returned to frequently. The work was discovered in a private Paris townhouse by auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat as he prepared the property for sale. His namesake auction house, Osenat, offered the painting on Sunday with an estimated value of €1 million-€2 million; with buyer's fees, it sold for €2.94 million ($3.4 million), nearly double its high estimate."
"According to the promotional material from the auction house, little was known about the circumstances around its creations, or the exact number of hands it passed through before arriving at the townhouse. The painting had been acknowledged by historians thanks to an engraving made after it by a contemporary of Rubens, and it was officially authenticated by German art historian Nils Büttner, a leading Rubens specialist."
"The provided provenance states that the painting was purchased by the 19th-century French academic painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau and down through successive generations of his heirs. In a statement, Osenat described the work as "a masterpiece" that was painted by Rubens "at the height of his talent." While Rubens was a prodigious painter of biblical themes, Büttner told the Guardian that he typically focused on the trials and eventual crucifixion of Christ rather than the dead, crucified Christ on the cross."
Painted in 1613, the work depicts Jesus Christ on the cross and exemplifies Rubens's engagement with biblical subject matter. The painting was discovered in a private Paris townhouse by auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat while preparing the property for sale. Osenat's auction house offered the work with an estimate of €1–€2 million; it sold for €2.94 million (€3.4 million with buyer's fees) at a Versailles sale. Provenance traces the painting to 19th-century painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau and his heirs. Authentication used X-ray imaging and pigment analysis and was confirmed by German art historian Nils Büttner. The auction house described the canvas as a masterpiece painted at the height of Rubens's talent.
Read at ARTnews.com
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