The estimated value was 1 to 1.5 million euros, but it was auctioned off many times over. Talk of a Titian painting that was auctioned off at Dorotheum on Wednesday evening.
A long-lost Titian painting was auctioned off on Wednesday evening for 4.8 million euros at Vienna’s Dorotheum. “The Penitent Magdalena” achieved one of the highest auction prices worldwide for the artist, as a highlight of the “Old Master Paintings” auction, according to a broadcast. The estimated value was 1 to 1.5 million euros.
“The Penitent Magdalena” was the most successful and slightly varied pictorial theme in the work of Tiziano Vecellio, known as Titian (1485/90-1576), over four decades. The version now for sale was only recently discovered by art historians. Accordingly, the 115 x 96.7 centimeter picture is “one of the missing links in the chain of Titian’s work history”.
Long way
The painting by the Venetian baroque painter has an eventful history behind it. It was once part of the collections of Queen Christina of Sweden (1629-1689) and Duke Philip II of Orléans (1674-1723). Before that, it most likely belonged to the collection of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II in Prague and came into Swedish possession during the Thirty Years’ War. Most recently, it was in private hands for decades.
(APA)
