Hidden for centuries, a painting of the crucifixion by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens sold on Sunday for €2.9 million, after it was rediscovered in a Parisian mansion last year.
"Christ on the Cross" went under the hammer at the Osenat auction house in Fontainebleu just outside Paris, where it topped an estimate of €1 million to €2 million.
Excluding fees, the winning bid was €2.3 million.
Painted by Rubens around 1620, the work was found by the head of the auction house in September 2024 among belongings at a private mansion on the Left Bank.
"It was painted by Rubens at the height of his talent," Jean-Pierre Osenat told AFP news agency, calling the painting "a masterpiece".
"It's the very beginning of Baroque painting, depicting a crucified Christ, isolated, luminous and standing out vividly against a dark and threatening sky," he said.
The auctioneer compared the discovery to "finding the Mona Lisa".
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Microscopic clues
Osenat came across the painting as he inventoried the contents of the mansion on behalf of owners who wanted to sell them off.
After its discovery, art experts in Germany and Belgium spent months authenticating the work using techniques including X-rays and pigment analysis.
"Microscopic examination of the paint layers revealed not only white, black and red pigments in the areas representing flesh, but also blue and green pigments... which are typically used by Rubens in his depictions of human skin," the auction house said.
The panel on which it was painted was also prepared using a technique typical of the Dutch artist's workshop, experts found.
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It is one of at least four known examples of Rubens paintings of the crucifixion, but art historians said it has unique features. "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," said Rubens specialist Nils Buttner, who helped authenticate the painting.
The work is thought to have belonged to the 19th-century French academic painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau and remained in the family, eventually passing to the owners of the mansion where it was found.
Previous assessments had attributed the painting to one of Rubens' many assistants and valued it at around €10,000.
It went on temporary display in September at the Church of Saint Roch in central Paris.
(with newswires)
