a nude by Bernini ‘sold’ for 1.9 million euros

by time news

Time.news – New world record for a drawing by Gian Lorenzo Bernini auctioned in France: it is a sanguine datable between 1630 and 1640, sold for over 1.9 million euros (including auction fees). The work, whose pre-sale estimate was between 30,000 and 50,000 euros, depicts a seated man, surrounded by plant decorations, and was sold by the Actéon auction house in Compiègne, in the north of the country.

The previous record for a design by the genius of the Italian Baroque had been reached in 2014 and was equal to 139 thousand euros: “We therefore pulverized that result and it is something that makes us extremely happy “, commented the auctioneer, Dominique Le Coent. The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, but would be an Anglo-Saxon. There are very few known drawings by Bernini: in addition to this, art historians believe that there are seven others, “all preserved in museums, including one in the Uffizi in Florence”. They participated in the auction, transmitted via the web numerous international collectors, even by phone.

The sanguine was “discovered” on the occasion of a succession. The design was first attributed to French sculptor Pierre Puget, active in the same years as Bernini. In 2019 the Actéon auction house set another record for a work by another great Italian master, Cimabue: his ‘Christ mocked’ was sold for over 24 million.

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