VERSAILLES, France — A long-lost work by Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens, hidden for more than four centuries, sold for 2.3 million euros ($2.7 million) at an auction Sunday in Versailles. The panel, recently discovered in a private Paris townhouse, depicts the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Previously part of a French collection, the painting had long been attributed to one of the many Rubens workshops and was rarely valued above about 10,000 euros ($11,500). “I immediately had a hunch about this painting, and I did everything I could to try to have it authenticated,” auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat told The Associated Press. “And finally, we managed to have it authenticated by the Rubenianum, which is the Rubens committee in Antwerp.”
Expert Nils Büttner, known for his research on Rubens, said the master painted many crucifixions but seldom showed “the crucified Christ as a dead body on the cross.” He noted this work is unique among Rubens’ oeuvre for depicting blood and water flowing from Christ’s side wound.
The Osenat auction house said scientific analysis and provenance research confirmed the attribution. Microscopic examination of paint layers revealed not only the expected white, black and red pigments used for flesh but also blue and green pigments, a palette Rubens often used to render human skin. Art expert Eric Turquin told a packed room that the painting had virtually vanished after the early 1600s and is known to have been owned in the 19th century by French academic painter William Bouguereau before remaining in the family until its recent rediscovery.
