Da Vinci’s drawing of a bear’s head with a pencil on paper is only seven by seven centimeters in size and was one of the few similar works of a Renaissance master that has hitherto been in private hands. The work, which was over 500 years old, belonged to the British painter and collector Thomas Lawrence, and in 1860 it was sold at Christie’s auction for 2.5 pounds. Now his price has climbed to £ 8.857 million, the highest price ever paid for da Vinci’s drawing.
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“I was sure that the high quality and rarity of this work will attract people from all over the world and will lead to an exceptional result,” said Stijn Alsteens, head of the old masters department of the auction hall. According to him, this is also one of the last drawings of this artist, which appeared on the market.
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Isaac Newton’s remarks on his pivotal work Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica also exceeded the estimated price set at 600 thousand to 900 thousand pounds (18 to 27 million crowns) in the auction. One and a half pages of a manuscript in Latin, which relates to one of the most important books of modern science, was eventually acquired by the new owner for £ 1,702,500.
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