The Sacrifice of Polyxena created in 1647 by Charles Le Brun (1619-1690). (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: IT MADE 1.44 MILLION ERO.
A rediscovered painting by Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) to be offered at Christie’s sale of Old Masters and 19th Century Paintings in Paris next April 15 was hiding in plain sight at the Ritz. Louis XIV declared Le Brun to the greatest French artist of all time. His most important works are at Versaille and he was the originator of the Louis XIV Style. Painted in 1647 The Sacrifice of Polyxena – estimated at 300,000-500,000 euro – was recently recognised by the Ritz’s art adviser Joseph Friedman and fellow consultant Wanda Tymowska. It was in the Coco Chanel Suite. Archives have not revealed how the painting came to the hotel but it is possible that it was already in the 1705 townhouse when it was acquired by César Ritz in 1898. The Le Brun attribution has been unanimously supported by leading French museums.
Painted when he had newly returned to Paris from Rome the work displays the profound impact of the art of Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) on Le Brun’s style. It shows the artist’s fidelity in reproducing the antiquities of Imperial Rome, evident in the details of the bronze vase, tripod and marble sarcophagus that ornament the scene, and the incense casket, taken from a drawing made by Le Brun in Rome after an Antique prototype.
It will be on view at the Rockefeller Centre in New York from January 26-29.
UPDATE: It was sold to the Metropolitan Museum in New York for 1.44 million euro.