An ultra-rare portrait of the famous Italian painter Sandro Botticelli can earn $ 80 million or more when it goes on sale at Sotheby’s on Thursday.
The auction marks the first major test of the art market this year, as well as the willingness of global collectors to pay eight or nine digits for trophy works during the health crisis and market volatility. If successful, it can help boost the reputation and prices of Old Masters paintings at a time when most of the money in the art world is after newer, more striking works by contemporary and postwar artists.
“There is a global audience involved and interest in this painting,” said Charles Stewart, Sotheby’s CEO.
Botticelli’s painting, called “Young man holding a Roundel”, is believed to have been painted around 1480. It is one of about a dozen portraits attributed to Botticelli and one of only a handful in private hands.
The seller is owned by the late real estate billionaire Sheldon Solow, who bought the piece in 1982 for $ 1.2 million.
To commercialize the work during the pandemic, Sotheby’s exhibited the painting worldwide to collectors and potential bidders.
“The young man in the painting made more trips during Covid than probably anyone we know,” said Stewart.
Botticelli is most famous for “Birth of Venus”, which depicts the Roman goddess emerging from a shell. The previous record for his work was the 2013 sale of “Madonna and Child with Young Saint John the Baptist” for $ 10.4 million.
The work will be part of Sotheby’s “Master Paintings & Sculpture” sale on Thursday.