Renaissance master painter Titian’s stolen masterpiece fetches record price
"The Rest on the Flight into Egypt" by Titian Offered in Old Masters Part I on 2 July 2024 at Christie's in London, United Kingdom (Christie’s Images Ltd)
Titian’s painting “Rest on the Flight into Egypt” sold for a record-breaking $22.3 million at Christie’s Auction House in London.
Italian Renaissance artist Tiziano Vecellio painted this masterpiece in the early 16th century. The painting has a tumultuous history of theft and rediscovery.
Napoleon’s soldiers stole the painting in the early 19th century from the Belvedere Palace in Vienna. It changed hands several times before the fourth Marquess of Bath purchased it in 1878. From there, it hung in Longleat House in England until it was stolen again in 1995.
In 2002, a former Scotland Yard detective, Charles Hill, unexpectedly found it in a plastic bag at a London bus stop.
Intense bidding at the recent Christie’s auction reflected the high value and interest in Titian’s work.
Andrew Fletcher, the Global Head of the Old Masters Department at Christie’s, emphasized the painting’s significance, calling it “an extraordinary example of the artist’s innovative use of color and depiction of the human form.”
He added, “‘Rest on the Flight into Egypt’ is the most important work by Titian to appear at auction in over a generation.”
This sale not only set a new record for Titian’s work but also demonstrated the enduring appeal of Renaissance art.
