Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Small Raphael Work "Discovered"

May 10, 2010 by Marion Maneker

The CBC in Canada has picked up reports that  small portrait previously thought to be a copy has been authenticated as largely the work of Raphael:

The portrait, measuring 30 centimetres by 40 centimetres, was long dismissed as a worthless copy of the Renaissance Italian master’s work and abandoned in the vaults of the museum of the Este family in Sassuolo in northern Italy. Its elaborate carved and gilded frame caught the eye of Mario Scalini, acting supervisor of the arts for the northern Italian provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia, in a chance viewing of the work. […]

Scalini had the painting analyzed by art experts. “The results … allow us to assert with reasonable certainty that the work was painted by Raphael,” he said. It’s believed that the portrait was started by Raphael but finished by one of his most prominent pupils, Giulio Romano, after the master’s death in 1520. Florence art laboratory analyst Anna Pelagotti told The Associated Press that infrared testing revealed three layers, including a preparatory sketch that clearly appeared to have been done by Raphael.

It’s now believed that the painting is a first draft of part of a larger painting, Madonna of the Pearl, which hangs in Madrid’s Prado museum. Scalini said the small painting could be worth $40 million or more.

“Fake” Raphael Could Be Worth £40m (CBC.ca)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Sotheby’s to Sell Raphael Drawing in DecemberSotheby’s to Sell Raphael Drawing in December
  • Louvre Abu Dhabi Announces Acquisition of £9.48m Rembrandt StudyLouvre Abu Dhabi Announces Acquisition of £9.48m Rembrandt Study
  • Christie’s Has Richard Feigen Collection in MayChristie’s Has Richard Feigen Collection in May
  • Christie’s Sells £11.4m Leyden Drawing to Benefit Rugby SchoolChristie’s Sells £11.4m Leyden Drawing to Benefit Rugby School
  • Getty Buys Previously Unknown Quentin Metsys PaintingGetty Buys Previously Unknown Quentin Metsys Painting
  • Christie’s to Sell Shickman Collection Led by Spanish Still LivesChristie’s to Sell Shickman Collection Led by Spanish Still Lives

Filed Under: Artists Tagged With: Old Master, Raphael

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • David Hockney's $20m Pacific Coast Highway & Santa Monica
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • How to Chant Like an Auctioneer
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Christie's Announces $70m Picasso Self Portrait
  • Basquiat's Last Girlfriend
  • Mark Rothko, Tamara de Lempicka, Mickalene Thomas to Star in Phillips London Evening Sale
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor