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A long lost masterpiece by Baroque Artist Peter Paul Rubens, hidden for more than four centuries, has sold for €2.3 million (£2 million/ $2.7 million) auction In Versailles On Sunday.
Painting depicting the Crucifixion jesus christWas recently discovered in a private Parisian townhouse.
Previously part of a French collection, it was mistakenly classified as one of Rubens’s many workshops and was rarely valued at more than €10,000.
“I immediately knew what this painting was and I did everything I could to authenticate it,” auctioneer Jean-Pierre Ossenat told The Associated Press. “And finally, we managed to get it certified by the Rubensianum, which is the Rubens committee in Antwerp.”
Nils Büttner, an expert known for his research on Rubens, explained before the auction that the master often painted crucifixions but rarely “depicted the crucified Christ as a dead body on the cross.”
“So this is the only painting that shows blood and water coming out of Christ’s side wound, and it’s something that Rubens only painted once.”
The Osénat auction house said the painting’s authenticity and provenance were confirmed after scientific analysis. It states that microscopic examination of the paint layers revealed not only white, black and red in the areas representing flesh, but also blue and green, the use of which is typical of Rubens’ depictions of human skin.
Art expert Eric Turquin told a packed house that the painting had almost disappeared in the early 1600s. It is known to have belonged to the 19th century French classic painter William Bouguereau before being passed down in the family.