Rubens painting rediscovered, headed for auction at Sotheby'sJuly 7, 2020 - 15:09 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A portrait that had gathered dust in a family collection for almost 140 years could make £3.5 million ($4.3 million) at auction after it was discovered to be a Rubens. The origins of "Portrait Of A Lady" were revealed when layers of dirt and varnish were removed, and it will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London, with a £2.5 million to £3.5 million ($3.1-4.3 million) estimate, Belfast Telegraph reports. The 17th century masterpiece was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1902 as a work by Rubens, but Andrew Fletcher, Sotheby’s head of department for Old Master paintings, said its origins had been “forgotten about”. After remaining in one family collection for 139 years, it was sold for £78,000 in 2017. It was catalogued during the sale as being from the workshop of Rubens, meaning it was thought to have been painted by one of the his assistants, possibly overseen by the Old Master himself. An anonymous buyer – who is now selling the work – had a hope it was the real thing so he snapped up the painting and took it to Sotheby’s for experts to take a look. “It was quite dirty, with hundred years of dirt and old varnish on it” but when it was cleaned “this rather wonderful Rubens was revealed”, Mr Fletcher said. “It’s one of those moments that you have a couple of times a year when you walk in, and you just have this wonderful instant reaction of glee,” he said. Some “hidden details” were brought out with an infrared camera. Photo: Victoria Jones/PA Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Pashinyan: We must stop searching for homeland, we have found that homeland Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has shared a message on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Erdogan wants “realistic road map” for relations with Armenia Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a “new realistic road map” for relations with Armenia. Armenia-Azerbaijan: Experts launch work on determining coordinates Expert groups from the countries started the process of determining the coordinates based on geodetic measurements. Yerevan says did not expect CSTO in peacekeeping role Pashinyan has declared that the CSTO would be expected to come to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as an ally of Armenia |