RUBENS PAINTING SOLD FOR $3.4 MILLION IN WARSAW

Painting by Peter Paul Rubens "Portrait of a Lady" sold at an auction in Warsaw. The buyer paid PLN 14.4 million, or $3.4 million, for it.

According to the Associated Press, this painting by Rubens has become the most expensive work of art ever bought on the Polish art market. Rubens painting sells for $3.4 million in Warsaw "Portrait of a lady". Photo: AP Photo It is noteworthy that put up a picture for sale filed by the UK. But he got much less for the lot than he expected. Initially, the portrait was estimated at 18–24 million zlotys, that is, $4.5–6 million.

According to experts, the painting was painted around 1620 in the workshop of Rubens in Antwerp. And about who is depicted on it, opinions differ. They experts suggest that this is a portrait of the artist's first wife, Isabella Brant, while others saw in the heroine of the painting a girl from the Duarte family of jewelers who lived next door to the artist. There is a third version that a lady who belonged to the royal court of Spain posed for Rubens.