A painting by the famous Antwerp painter Sir Pieter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was sold at auction in Versailles (France) for €2.94 million at the weekend. The canvas, entitled 'Christ on the Cross', was only discovered a few months ago, after being missing for centuries.
The painting dating from 1613, which was thought to be lost, was found last September when an auctioneer completed the inventory and sale of a mansion in Paris, the French capital. A winning bid of 2.3 million euros was made, but with all costs included, the sale price rose to 2.94 million.
The discovery was an “extremely rare” event, according to auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat, who found the canvas. The painting depicts Christ crucified against a dark and threatening sky. According to Osenat, the canvas marks “the very beginning of Baroque painting”.
Prof Nils Büttner authenticated the work. Büttner is a specialist in German, Flemish and Dutch art of the 15th and 16th centuries and chairman of the Rubenianum, an Antwerp-based organisation located near the master's former studio, which focuses exclusively on Rubens' oeuvre.
Rubens painted Christ on the cross at least three more times, the most famous example of which is in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, southern Germany.
The famous baroque painter often worked for the Church, but this work, measuring 105.5 by 72.5 centimetres, was probably intended for a private collector. It belonged to the 19th-century academic painter William Bouguereau and then to the owners of the mansion where it was found.
