Exceptional painting found in an attic in Toulouse: what you need to know about this masterpiece sold at auction this Friday
A painting dating from 1520 is auctioned this Friday, February 4 at the Chapelle des Carmélites, in Toulouse. This panel from a very old altarpiece had been discovered in an attic in Toulouse on the occasion of an inheritance.
“The thuriferous angel dressed in a yellow tunic” has been exhibited at the Chapelle des carmélites since Tuesday, February 2 in Toulouse, after having stopped at the Turquin cabinet, in Paris, in January. Nearly 600 people came to admire it during these three days.
This panel of an altarpiece (painted or sculpted vertical construction, generally installed near the altar of a church), very old, arouses curiosity two and a half years after the sale of the famous painting by Caravaggio (“Judith and Holofernes” ), also discovered in an attic in Toulouse. This kind of discovery is indeed not very frequent. A godsend for the young auction house Artpaugée, located in Toulouse. Here is what we know about this work sold at auction this Friday, February 4.
Read also :
VIDEO. In Toulouse, discover the panel of the 1520 altarpiece before its auction at the Chapelle des Carmélites
-
He was discovered in an attic
This painting was found last summer during an inventory in a family, in an apartment in downtown Toulouse. He reveals himself in an attic, under a pile of forgotten paintings. A nice surprise for the owner, who was unaware of its true value. “The heirs preferred to part with it and share it with as many people as possible”, according to the auctioneer in charge of the sale, Pauline Maringe.
“The Thuriferous Angel Dressed in a Yellow Tunic” dates from 1520. It stands at the crossroads of two styles: late Gothic and Renaissance. It is the work of a German painter, Bernhard Strigel (1461-1528), little known but particularly gifted, according to Pauline Maringe. It has been authenticated in particular according to the wood and the species used, the dimensions and the composition of the painting, which bears the “paw” of the painter.
-
It is part of an altarpiece
The Angel in the Yellow Tunic was originally painted as part of an altarpiece. The latter was welcomed in the Church of Our Lady of Memmingen in Bavaria. It included another painting representing “the thuriferous Angel dressed in a purple robe”.
-
Pendant He was separated from his
Shortly after the Reformation in Germany, the altar would have been dismantled, that is to say 15 to 20 years after its creation only. The two paintings of angels were found much later, in 1816, in a Parisian sale. They were then separated. We find the trace of the painting of the Angel in the yellow tunic in 1845 before it left in a private collection. It reappears at the beginning of the 20th century, in the Toulouse family.
The painting of the Angel in the purple robe was bought by the Abu Dahbi Louvrein the United Arab Emirates, in 2008, after being found in a private collection in 2005.
-
Estimated between €600,000 and €800,000
“It is an exceptional painting, in terms of its quality and its value”, considers the auctioneer. A “masterpiece” according to the expert firm Turquin, in Paris. Particularly well preserved, this altarpiece panel is priced at between €600,000 and 800,000.
-
Multiple targeted buyers
The auction takes place in public, in the Chapel of the Carmelites, rue du Périgord, in downtown Toulouse. The gauge for the public is limited to 150 people. Six telephone lines have been reserved, in connection with museums or private art dealers.