DESA Unicum, a well-established Warsaw auction house, is expected to host one of the highest auction painting sales in polish history with Rubens’ masterpiece “Portrait of a Lady’. The 17th-century portrait by a baroque master Peter Paul Rubens is estimated to sell for 18-24 million zloty (£3.3 million – £4.4 million). The exceptional oil-on-canvas comes from a London-based heir of an art collector with Polish ties.
DESA President predicts the biggest art auction sale in Poland yet
Rubens ‘Portrait of a Lady’ is expected to become one of the most expensive works of art to be sold not just in Poland but also in Central and Eastern Europe. Even long ahead of the auction on 17 March, the painting is gaining much attention from international collectors.
Ruben’s workshop produced over 2,000 paintings for some of the most highly regarded European aristocrats. Nevertheless, his art can rarely be found in public auctions in Europe. Therefore, Rubens’ auctions are carefully followed by international art enthusiasts and collectors. In 2020, Christie’s London sold Rubens’ “Portrait of a Young Woman, Half-Length, Holding a Chain” for nearly 4 million pounds.
During a press conference, the DESA Unicum auction house president, Juliusz Windorbski, declared the auction as “unprecedented as far as the Polish market is concerned.” He also added that “a work of art with such huge historical, artistic and investment value has never been shown before in Poland”.
“This exceptional piece of art, one of the most precious in the world, has made its way to us.” DESA Unicum President Juliusz Windorbski
Other works included in the March auction were painted by an Italian master, Giovanni Battista Lampi, as well as renowned Polish artists, including Jacek Malczewski, Aleksander Gierymski and Leon Wyczolkowski.
A mysterious painting with a rich history
Ahead of the auction on 17 March, visitors can admire the portrait up close during a special exhibition. This is a rare chance to see the painting for the first time since its last public appearance in 1965.
Rubens’ painting has been held in private collections of established art collectors and European aristocrats for over four centuries. Some of the most famous owners were Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos, Paris-based financier, Jules Porgès, and until 2011, an exiled Egyptian prince Muhammed Ali Ibrahim.
Recent conservator work and research confirmed that Rubens created the ‘Portrait of a Lady’ around 1626 in his Antwerp workshop. It is a unique artwork as he rarely painted female portraits. The mysterious lady in the portrait, wearing a black velvet dress, has been suspected to portray various women from Ruben’s life. For over 300 years, art experts believed it to portray Isabella Brant, Rubens’ first wife. More recent interpretations suggest that it might be his sister or a member of an influential Jewish family of jewellers.
Another theory supposes that the woman in the painting could have been a member of the Spanish royal court. Regardless of her origin, she must have been an influential character in the XVII century to be painted by one of the publicly proclaimed greatest artists of the Baroque era.
Author: Marta Kąkol
Marta has recently graduated from Utrecht University, obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Thanks to her interdisciplinary education, she can apply multiple perspectives to complex political issues. She vocalizes her interest in public affairs in a multitude of ways, from journalistic writing to organising speaker events. She hopes to gain funding for her Master’s in European and International Public Policy at LSE starting in 2022.
Main picture: DESA Unicum
