Getty Image / IAN LANGSDON/AFP
A masterpiece from Peter Paul Rubens that was believed to have been missing for 400 years turned up and has since sold at auction for millions of dollars. The Christ on the Cross painting was rediscovered inside a Parisian townhouse after it disappeared back in 1613.
For as long as anyone can trace back, it was believed the painting by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens was the product of a Rubens workshop and not a Rubens original. It took someone previewing the townhouse in Paris, France that was being prepared for sale before someone realized it was a priceless work of art.
Lost Rubens Painting Sells For $2.7 Million
Of course, it’s not priceless anymore after it sold for $2.7 million at auction. And if you are a longtime BroBible reader you know by now it is my life’s dream to find a priceless work of art somewhere in the home or attic. Money won is so much sweeter than money earned.
This painting, according to NPR, was rediscovered in September 2024 as the townhouse was being prepared to be sold. It is said it was found in “very good condition” even after it had gone missing ~412 years ago and had not been kept in museum-like conditions.
Getty Image / IAN LANGSDON/AFP
The painting was found by auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat who called it a “masterpiece” and said he had a hunch that this wasn’t a painting from one of the Rubens workshops but was in fact the missing Christ on the Cross.
Nils Büttner, a German art historian and Rubens expert with the Rubens committee in Antwerp, Belgium would later confirm its authenticity. They used microscopic analysis in order to confirm the authenticity, among other methods, but in the end it was deemed to be authentic and last weekend it sold at auction for $2.7 million.
I’m not sure why I feel the need to mention this but I haven’t seen it reported in any articles related to the auction… Peter Paul Rubens had 8 children. 8! I know families were larger back then but c’mon, man, how do you provide for 8 children and a wife?!
On top of that, how did this missing masterpiece not end up with one of the 8 children, or did it? The fact that it went missing for 400+ years creates such an aura of mystery surrounding this lost painting.