Emily Chan
When a famous painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Titian goes up for auction in July, it could sell for up to $32 million. The painting is titled “Rest on the Flight into Egypt,” and it is thought to date back to the 16th century.
The masterpiece will be featured in Christie’s Old Masters Part I sale in London. It is the first time that the painting will come onto the market in more than 145 years. The auction house estimates that the art will rake in between roughly $19 million and $32 million.
Inspiration for the painting came from an event recounted in the Gospel of Matthew. Joseph received a warning in the form of a dream that Herod, the King of Judea, wanted the young Christ murdered.
So, Joseph, Mary, and their baby traveled to Egypt to escape him. The painting depicts the family stopping to take a break on their way to Egypt.
According to the auction house, “Rest on the Flight into Egypt” was created by Titian when he was likely in his late teens or early twenties at the end of the first decade of the 16th century.
Titian is regarded as the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was also the first painter to have a primarily international clientele. No one else’s talent was comparable.
“One of the last religious works from the artist’s celebrated early years to remain in private hands, the picture has passed through some of the greatest collections in Europe and was last auctioned by Christie’s in 1878 before entering the collection at Longleat House,” Christie’s said in a statement.
Throughout the years, the artwork was previously owned by dukes, archdukes, and Holy Roman Emperors.
The 4th Marquess of Bath, United Kingdom, acquired the painting in 1878 when Christie’s put it up for auction. In 1995, it was stolen from the Longleat estate, and the robbery made headlines.
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