Titian painting sells for £17.6 million after being found at London bus stop
When purchasing a painting, or any work of art, one is also buying into the history of that specific piece. In addition to looking appealing hung on a wall, many paintings come with an incredibly interesting story in their own right, as is certainly the case with The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, a painting by Titian which has now sold for a record price at auction.
The piece, thought to have been painted between 1508 and 1510 has had a particularly interesting journey to the auction house, having passed through the hands of emperors, aristocrats and thieves. Reportedly, the first owner of Titian’s work was a Venetian merchant, who then sold the piece onto Sir James Hamilton of Holyroodhouse before making its way to an Austrian Archduke by the name of Leopold Wilhelm.
In 1809, some two hundred years after Titian originally finished the painting, it was looted by Napoleon’s forces during the French occupation of Vienna. Although the painting was returned only a handful of years later, that was not the end of its history of theft. In 1995, it was stolen from a home in Longleat, England, and was thought lost for multiple years.
Then, in 2002, the vitally important renaissance painting was found at a bus stop in London, without its frame and housed only in a plastic bag. Thankfully, the damage to the work was minimal, and it was soon returned to Longleat. Recently, the owners decided to part with the historic work, putting it up for auction at Christie’s Old Masters in London earlier this month.
Last week, the painting sold for £17.6 million. That price is considerably more than the £5 million the work was valued at when stolen back in the 1990s, even when adjusted for inflation. Although the sale came in towards the lower side of the painting’s £15 to £25 million estimate, it has set a new record for the sales of Titian’s work.
Previously, the Italian artist’s most expensive work was A Sacra Conversazione: The Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria, which sold in New York back in 2011 for $16.9 million (just under £13.2 million).
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt has enjoyed such a varied and interesting history that it seems unlikely this sale will be the last chapter in its story. While, hopefully, it will not again be found trying to catch a bus, the history of the work likely contributed to its record breaking price tag.
