Rembrandt portraits auctioned off for £11.2 million

Two rediscovered portraits attributed to the Dutch master, Rembrandt, have been auctioned at Christie's in London for more than 11.2 million pounds, roughly equivalent to 13.1 million euros. These are paintings of Jan Willemsz. van der Pluym, born in about 1565 and died in 1644, and Jaapgen Carels, who was born in 1565 and died in 1640.

The artworks are from 1635, and have been privately held until now. The auction house estimated the portraits would fetch a maximum of 8 million pounds before the sale.

The two paintings were last sold in 1824, also by Christie's. They have been in the same British private collection for the past two centuries and have not been on public display. Christie's CEO Henry Pettifer previously called it "one of the most exciting discoveries we've made in recent years in the field of old masters."

They are among the smallest and most intimate portraits produced by Rembrandt and "add something new to our understanding of him as an undisputed genius portraitist," he said.

Leiden resident Van der Pluym and his wife Jaapgen Carels had a personal connection with Rembrandt. Their son, Dominicus, married Cornelia van Suytbroeck, the daughter of Rembrandt's maternal uncle, Willem van Suytbroeck. That couple had a son, Karel, who is believed to have been trained by Rembrandt. Van der Pluym and Carels also had a garden next to that of Rembrandt's mother.

Christie's did not want to say on Thursday afternoon who bought the paintings, not even whether it was a museum or a private individual, saying it is up to the buyer to make an announcement. The final buyer bid by phone. There was a great deal of interest, the auction house said.