Warsaw, Feb. 17 (BUS): Peter Paul Rubens’ masterpiece “Portrait of a Lady” from the 17th century is set to be auctioned in Poland next month, auction house DESA Unicum said Thursday.
The Flemish artist’s oil-on-canvas painting of a dark-haired woman in a rich black velvet dress is worth 18 million to 24 million zlotys ($4.5 million to $6 million), according to the Associated Press.
The painting, now owned by a British citizen, will be auctioned in Warsaw on March 17. It is expected to be one of the largest art sales ever in Central or Eastern Europe, according to DESA Unicum.
“This exceptional piece of art, one of the most valuable pieces of art in the world, has made its way to us,” said Julius Windorbsky, head of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, at a press conference. “We are living the dream of every auction house in the world.”
Experts say that the work, painted by Rubens around 1620-25, with participation from his workshop in Antwerp, could be similar to the painter’s first wife, Isabella Brant, or to a member of the Duarte family of jewelers, who were Rubens’ neighbors. The model could also have come from the Spanish royal court.
The painting was once owned, among others, by 17th-century British painter Sir Peter Lilly. It was last shown to the public in 1965.
In 2020, Robbins’ “Portrait of a Young Woman, Half-Length, Holding a Chain” sold for nearly £4 million ($5.4 million) at Christie’s in London.
Other pieces on display at the March auction include works by Italian painter Giovanni Battista Lampi, who lived between 1751 and 1830, and works by Polish masters of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Jacek Malchowski, Leon Wieczolkowski, and Aleksander Grimski.
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