The Man of Sorrows by Botticelli sold for $45.5 million at Sotheby’s in New York on January 27. The hammer price was $39.3 million, just under the estimate of around $40 million. From an American collection the work had last changed hands in 1963 for £10,000. Works by Botticelli (about 1445-1510), best known for his various portraits of Madonna and Child, The Birth of Venus and Primavera, rarely appear on the auction market. The Man of Sorrows is one of only four of his late works known to be in private hands according to Sotheby’s.
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for October 8, 2021 and January 2, 2022)