PARIS — For more than four centuries, people believed it had vanished.
But after being discovered in a Paris townhouse, a painting from the 17th century Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens sold Sunday at the Osenat auction house in Versailles for 2.3 million euros ($2.7 million).
The painting, titled Christ on the Cross, was completed in 1613 but soon vanished from public view. For centuries, its existence was known only through engravings, printed reproductions made by other artists. Its whereabouts remained a mystery until the auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat uncovered it in September 2024 during a routine inspection of a Paris home he was preparing to sell.
"It is a masterpiece," Osenat told the French wire agency AFP shortly after making the discovery, adding the artwork was in "very good condition."
Still, Osenat had doubts that what he stumbled upon was so uniquely valuable. It was initially believed the piece was produced from one of the many Rubens workshops. The painter had set up a large studio where he collaborated on pieces with a team of assistants.
Yet Osenat says he had a hunch that maybe this piece was not like all other pieces.
"I did everything I could to try and have it authenticated," Osenat told the Associated Press.
So he brought it to the Centrum Rubenianum, the official Rubens committee in Antwerp, Belgium. After a scientific analysis, the painting's authenticity was confirmed by German art historian and Rubens expert, Nils Büttner. He recounted giving Osenat a call in an interview with AFP.
"Jean-Pierre, we have a new Rubens!," Büttner recalled telling Osenat, according to AFP.
Büttner added that authentication analysis included a microscopic examination of the paint layers, which revealed blue and green pigments consistent with Rubens' treatment of human skin.
The last known owner of the painting was 19th century French classic painter William Bouguereau, before being passed down in his family, according to the Associated Press.
Born in 1577, Rubens became known as the master of the Flemish Baroque tradition, a style made popular in the 16th and 17th centuries known for its use of dramatic lighting, lifelike realism and meticulous detail.
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