New York, Jan 27 (EFE) .- An unusual portrait by Botticelli, which has been valued by experts at about 80 million dollars, will be auctioned tomorrow at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York, where they indicate that this piece it has been on sale three times in the last two centuries.
“The last time it was released on the market was in 1982. Before that it was in a private collection from the beginning of the 20th century, and before that in another from the late 18th century, we think. So you don’t see very often.” Christopher Apostle, the New York director of Sotheby’s Grand Masters department, told Efe.
Painted about 540 years ago, the piece in question, “Young Man Holding a Roundel”, has been on display in one of Sotheby’s elegant rooms since last September, which could be accessed for free after making an appointment.
“In my 30 years of professional career, I have never had a Botticelli that comes close to the quality, the condition, the beauty and the importance of this,” added Apostle, who recalled other “iconic” pieces by this artist, such as “Primavera “or” The Birth of Venus “.
Although Botticelli was a very famous artist who painted various members of the Medici family, the great patrons of Florence’s Renaissance, very few of his portraits survived the passage of time and most of them are on display in museums.
In fact, this portrait is one of only three by Botticelli that remain in private hands and which is also in “exceptional condition” despite being more than five centuries old.
The piece sold for about £ 810,000 in 1982 (about $ 1 million at today’s exchange rate), but now experts have valued it at about $ 80 million when compared to “other masterpieces that have hit the market, already whether by Francis Bacon, Picasso, or other great names in Western art history, “Apostle explained.
The auction of this piece is “a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said the representative of Sotheby’s, which sells this piece for a week that has been dedicated to the great masters of art history.
In addition to the Botticelli, the highest bidder will also be sold “Abraham and the Angels”, a work by Rembrandt valued between 20 and 30 million dollars, and the sculpture “Autumn”, by Gian Lorenzo and Pietro Bernini, for between 8 and 12 million of dollars. EFE
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