PARIS — A 17th-century painting long thought lost has resurfaced and fetched 2.3 million euros ($2.7 million) at the Osenat auction house in Versailles. Found in a Paris townhouse, the canvas was identified as Peter Paul Rubens’ Christ on the Cross, dated to 1613.
The work vanished from public view soon after it was painted and was known only from engravings until its September 2024 discovery. Auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat uncovered the canvas while preparing the home for sale and described it as “a masterpiece” in “very good condition.”
Believing it might be a workshop piece, Osenat sent the painting to the Centrum Rubenianum in Antwerp for study. After scientific analysis, German Rubens specialist Nils Büttner confirmed the attribution, famously calling Osenat to say, “Jean-Pierre, we have a new Rubens!” Microscopic examination of the paint layers revealed blue and green pigments applied in a way consistent with Rubens’ rendering of human skin.
The last documented owner was 19th-century French academic painter William Bouguereau; the painting then remained in his family’s possession until its recent emergence. Born in 1577, Rubens became a leading figure of the Flemish Baroque, celebrated for dramatic lighting, lifelike realism and meticulous detail.