Prince of Painters: A Long-Lost Piece by Flemish Artist Peter Paul Rubens Could Fetch Up to $35,000,000 at Auction - Arts & Culture

It’s expected to be the most valuable old-master works ever sold.

A long-lost painting by Flemish artist Sir Peter Paul Rubens could fetch up to $35,000,000 at auction. The piece titled The head of Saint John the Baptist presented to Salome was believed to have been lost or misattributed for about 200 years. 

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Per The Guardian, it’s expected to be the most valuable old-master works ever sold. It will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in a sale in January 2022. 

The work depicts the biblical story of Salome, who’s known in the Christian Gospels for her role in the execution of John the Baptist. It conveys a message of powerful women and “fearlessly explores the violent and sexual dynamics of the Biblical narrative like some pre-cinematic Martin Scorsese,” Keith Christiansen, the curator emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, told the publication. “It’s the kind of painting that, once seen, you won’t forget.”

The head of Saint John the Baptist presented to Salome.

By the time of Rubens’ death in 1640, he was one of the era’s most celebrated artists. The artist was described as a “prince of painters, painter of princes.” His work continues to be greatly valued and is hung in some of the most prestigious art collections in the world, including the Louvre, Paris; State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; the British Museum, London; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Banner image from Sotheby’s.

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