New Titian portrait at Christie's

April 11 2017

Image of New Titian portrait at Christie's

Picture: Christie's

This is exciting: a newly discovered portrait by Titian being offered at Christie's in New York. Estimated at $600k-$800k, the portrait shows Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari (c. 1508-1578), a publisher in Venice (hence holding a book, I suppose). Wisely, the catalogue entry for the painting makes no secret of the last time the picture appeared at auction, in 2013 in a small sale in Geneva. There it was catalogued as 'Follower of Titian', and was being sold from the estate of a Swiss collection. I went to see it, and remember having a good, if surreptitious, look at the painting under a tree in the garden. I believed in an attribution to Titian then, and though I have only seen the online image of the cleaned painting, can well believe it now. Many congratulations to the sharp-eyed buyer in Geneva - I hope it does well now. The estimate seems to me quite reasonable. The painting is signed. 


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