Two years ago, a painting that was estimated to be worth $15,000 sold for nearly £11 million ($13.8 million) at a Sotheby’s auction on Wednesday, December 6 after it was determined to be a piece by the renowned Dutch artist Rembrandt.
When “Adoration of the Kings” was first discovered in the 1950s, it had been essentially hidden. J.C.H. Heldring, a collector, purchased it in Amsterdam in 1955. In 1985, his widow sold it to a German family, where it stayed until two years ago, when Christie’s in Amsterdam sold it.
At the time of the sale, Christie’s valued the biblical scene at between €10,000 and €15,000 (roughly $10,600 to $15,900 at the time), attributing it to the “Circle of Rembrandt” and implying that it was painted by a student or artist close to the well-known painter.
The 9.6 x 7.3-inch monochromatic painting was acquired by an anonymous buyer at the Christie’s sale for €860,000 (approximately $910,000 at the time), which was more than 50 times the painting’s estimated value. The Dutch painter later described it as “a work of great significance,” according to a Sotheby’s press release issued ahead of Wednesday’s auction.
Following the anonymous buyer’s consignment, Sotheby’s undertook an 18-month investigation to determine the painting’s accurate provenance and valuation.
After extensive research with eminent Rembrandt experts and an examination involving X-rays and infrared imaging, Sotheby’s concluded that the painting is “an autograph work by Rembrandt.” The auction house estimated the work’s value between £10 million and £15 million ($12.6 million to $18.8 million) prior to the sale.
The auction house estimates that it was painted in 1628, early in Rembrandt’s career, when he would have been 21 or 22 years old and residing in Leiden, a city in the Netherlands.
CNN
