In Toulouse, a 16th century master’s canvas discovered in an attic is put up for auction
It is a work of the great German painter Bernhard Strigel. She had belonged for three generations to a Toulouse family who did not know her origins and therefore her value. The painting will be auctioned this Friday, February 4.
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baptized The Thuriferous Angel dressed in a yellow tunic, the work is more than 500 years old. It is a jewel of the early German Renaissance. It was estimated between 600,000 and 800,000 euros.
It’s a story that everyone dreams of. Discover a masterpiece in the family attic. This is what happened to a Toulouse family. The work was authenticated on the occasion of an inheritance. last fall, the Artpaugee auction house is responsible for making an inventory for the estate. Under a pile of other paintings, two auctioneers come across this work, the quality of which appeals to them. But its state of conservation which is exceptional makes them doubt. “You would have thought it was a copy” explains Géraldine Martres, auctioneer at Artpaugee.
In order to ensure that it is not a fake painted with old techniques, the painting is delicately appraised. “We took an infrared shot and an X-ray to ensure the quality of the support”, specifies Philippine Motais from Narbonne, an expert in paintings. Finally, the expertise leaves no doubt. Its author is indeed Bernhard Strigel. A nice surprise for its owners. “They knew it was a painting that had a value, but not to that extent. They sought for more than thirty years to have it authenticated. They translated themselves to several people who did not have failed to put a name on the artist”, report Pauline Maringe, auctioneer at Artpaugee.
The painting is part of a set, the altarpiece of Our Lady of Memmingen in Germany (Bavaria). The Thuriferous Angel dressed in a yellow tunic moreover a twin. Another angel signed Bernhard Strigel dressed, this time, in a purple dress which belongs to the Louvre Abu Dhabi since 2009. The altarpiece would have been dismantled at the time of the Reformation in Germany. How did the angel in the yellow tunic get to Toulouse? It’s a mystery. We find traces of him in France at the beginning of the 19th century in the Dubois, then Saint-Morys and finally Berthon collections. Then he disappears again for about fifty years. He has watched over the very lucky Toulouse family since the beginning of the 20th century.