Rembrandt and Raphael artworks fetch record price
9th December 2009
Two masterpieces by Rembrandt and Raphael sold for record prices at an auction in London last night (December 8th).
The Rembrandt painting - Portrait of a Man, Half-Length, With His Arms Akimbo - was bought for GBP 20.2 million at Christie's, beating the GBP 19.8 million record for a work by the artist.
When the painting was last sold at auction in 1930, it commanded a price of GBP 18,500.
Head of a Muse, a drawing by Raphael, broke the previous record of GBP 8.1 million for an Old Master drawing sold at auction when it was bought for GBP 29.2 million yesterday.
Benjamin Peronnet, director and international head of Old Master and 19th century drawings at Christie's, said: 'This truly exceptional drawing offers us a glimpse into the working mind of a genius; it presents us with the immediacy of his thoughts and ideas.'
On December 16th, an early portrait of the renowned painter Sir Alfred James Munnings will go under the hammer at the auction house.
The rare painting, which has an estimate of GBP 300,000 to GBP 500,000, was recently discovered after spending almost 100 years hidden underneath another picture.