Christie Auction House has sold a 15th-century painting, a Venetian Titian Masterpiece, for £17.6 million in London.
Titian painted the artwork at 20 years old in 1510.
Lord Bath, the successor to the Longleat estate, once owned the unique painting.
Before the auction started, he said Titian’s painting remains a masterpiece.
Moreover, he inherited the estate in 2020 after his father, Marquess of Bath, passed away.
Lord Bath said before its sale, “We have considerable long-term investment strategy at Longleat and have decided to sell this asset to further this agenda at a time when the market for paintings of such unique rarity is so strong.”
Furthermore, Titian’s painting depicts Mary cuddling Jesus with Joseph looking on. Moreover, it was painted on a 2-foot wooden panel.
Titian Masterpiece Painting Passes Through Generations
The Titian painting has had several owners, including the Australian Emperor Joseph II.
Moreover, the Belvedere Palace once hung a Titian painting on its wall.
However, in 1809, French troops forcefully took Titian’s masterpiece and displayed it at the Napoleon Museum.
Furthermore, a Scottish landowner became the portrait owner.
The Marquess of Bath also bought the Titian painting at Christie’s auction in 1878.
In 1995, Lord Bath’s estate lost Titian’s painting from its drawing room.
However, a former Yard detective in Scotland, Charles Hill, recovered it for a reward of £100,000.
Andrew Fletcher of Christie Auction said the 15th-century portrait by Titian was the artist’s best work.
Also, Titian’s painting was “A truly outstanding example of the artist’s pioneering approach to both the use of color and the representation of the human form in the natural world,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher said the Titian piece distinguishes him as the best painter in Western art history.
Christie’s auction estimated that Titian’s painting could be sold for £15 million to £20 million.
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