Stolen Art DealerA half-length woman in a yellow shawl turns toward the viewer, one hand resting on the top of a broken spiked wheel and the other holding a palm frond; a faint halo sits above her head.
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Catalogue No. 1683 · Joron-Derem · Paris
Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Joron-Derem panel)
About $3.8 million in today’s money: 44 years of the typical US household’s income. Source
- Artist
- Artemisia Gentileschi (Italian, 1593-1654 or later)
- Title
- Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Joron-Derem panel)
- Date
- about 1615-17
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 71.4 x 69 cm (28 1/8 x 27 1/8 in.)
Artemisia Gentileschi painted this half-length self-portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria around 1615 to 1617, according to the National Gallery. She wears a yellow shawl and turns toward the viewer, one hand resting on a broken, spiked wheel and the other holding a palm frond. A faint halo sits above her head. The medium is oil on canvas.
The painting was offered by Joron-Derem at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris on 19 December 2017, as lot 69, with an estimate of €300,000 to €400,000. The Art Newspaper reports that it sold for €2,360,600 including the buyer's premium, after a hammer price of €1.85 million. At the time of sale this was an auction record for the artist.
The provenance record says the picture is believed to have belonged to the Boudeville family for several generations. It descended through Charles Marie Boudeville and his son Georges (1930 to 1984) to Georges's son Nicolas, who sold it. The buyers were Marco Voena, Old and Modern Masters Ltd, and Fabrizio Moretti. The National Gallery in London purchased it in 2018, and notes that its provenance for 1933 to 1945 is incomplete.
The sale
- Auction house
- Joron-Derem, Paris
- Date
- 19 December 2017
- Lot
- 69
- Estimate
- EUR 300,000-400,000
- Sold for
- $2.8 million (including buyer’s premium) · EUR 2,360,600
- Record
- Auction record for the artist at the time of sale (as of December 2017)
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Provenance
before early 1940s
Believed to have been in the possession of the Boudeville family for several generations; by descent to Charles Marie Boudeville (died early 1940s), Châtenois, Vosges, France Reported
early 1940s
By descent to his son, Georges Boudeville (1930-1984)
after 1984
By descent to his only son, Nicolas Boudeville (born 1966)
2017-12-19
Sold by Nicolas Boudeville, Christophe Joron-Derem, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, lot 69, where purchased by Marco Voena, Old and Modern Masters Ltd, and Fabrizio Moretti
2018
Purchased by the National Gallery, London
Sources
- The Art Newspaper, Newly discovered Artemisia Gentileschi painting sells for EUR 2.4m at auction in Paris (19 Dec 2017)
- National Gallery, Online Entries: Artemisia Gentileschi, Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (NG6671)
- National Gallery, Minutes of the Board of Trustees, 17 May 2018
Prices include the buyer’s premium, in US dollars at the time of sale, unless marked as a hammer price.