- Painting was stolen before being found, minus its frame, in a plastic bag
- The painting by Titian dates back to 1510
- Sale value is a record for a painting by Titian
A painting by a world-renowned artist that was found in a plastic bag seven years after being stolen has just sold at auction for a record price.
Recovered masterpiece
The painting, Rest On The Flight Into Egypt, which was painted by Titian in 1510, when he was just 20 years old, was sold by auction house Christie’s for $22.5 million – a new record for the artist.
Famously, the artwork was stolen from Longleat, a stately home in Wiltshire, England, owned by the Marquess of Bath, in 1995. The painting was missing for seven years, before turning up, minus its frame, in a plastic carrier back in London.
The painting depicts Mary cradling the baby Jesus with Joseph looking on. It is two feet wide and painted on a wooden panel.
Many owners
Over the years the painting has had many owners, from Austrian Emperor Joseph II, to the Napoleon Museum – after it was looted by French troops – before it was bought at auction by the fourth Marquess of Bath in 1878, and it has remained in the family ever since.
The current Lord Bath decided to sell the painting as part of a long-term investment strategy at Longleat, especially as the market for paintings such as this is very strong.
Titian was an Italian Renaissance painter and is regarded as the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He is regarded for his portraits and landscapes as well as depictions of mythological or religious subjects. His work influenced artists of the late Renaissance period, as well as generations of Western artists afterwards through his application and use of colour.
