Tuesday 10 May 2016

Could this 19th c. drawing sold by Cambi be a major Raphael sleeper?

Cambi, from Italy, sold last week an "Italian School, early 19th century" large (100 by 84 cm) drawing "in the Renaissance style", estimated at 400 to 500 Euro.

Instead, it sold for 40,000 Euro.

So, what could be the reason? Well, the sitter and her pose look suspiciously like a Raphael portrait, "La Donna Gravida", from the Palazzo Pitti. The drawing is obviously done by a very skilled artist (and the estimate was very low in any case, even for a random 19th century drawing of this quality). Could this be a real Raphael, completely misjudged by the auction house? It seems quite possible, without having handled the actual work (and not having seen e.g. the back of it), and in that case this is a major find and at 40K a major bargain for whoever spotted it and took the risk.

Perhaps it will reappear in a few months or years time and we will know more then. For now, it is just nice to speculate a bit.

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