Rembrandt van Rijn self-portrait auctioned for €16 million
On Tuesday evening, an early self-portrait of Rembrandt van Rijn painted in 1632 was auctioned for over £14.5 million (16 million euros) at Sotheby’s in London, the auction house said on social media.
The auction house expected between 12 and 16 million pounds for the painting. The person who purchased the self-portrait remained anonymous.
The 17 by 22 centimeter artwork was painted when Rembrandt was at the age of 22. The renowned painter also painted The anatomy lesson of Nicolaes Tulp in the same year.
During Rembrandt’s lifetime he painted 80 self portraits, but only a few of these works ever went under the hammer. According to Nu.nl, only three Rembrandt self-portraits were privately owned.
In 1970, a self-portrait of Rembrandt from 1632 was auctioned off for 700 euros. But there were doubts as to whether it was painted by the Dutch master himself.
#AuctionUpdate: New auction record! After a 6 minute bidding battle, Rembrandt self-portrait realises £14,549,400 to set a new benchmark price for a self-portrait by the Dutch master. #RembrandttoRichter pic.twitter.com/mZ9nBAZbCo
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) July 28, 2020