Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – January 29, 2021 – Culture
The painting “Young Man with a Medallion” by the Florentine Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli sold at auction in New York for $ 80 million.
The total cost together with the commission amounted to 92 million 200 thousand. This is the highest amount ever paid for the works of the old masters at the Sotheby’s auction. The name of the buyer is not disclosed. The previous owner of the canvas bought it about forty years ago for $ 1 million.
The masterpiece was created in the late XV century. Who portrayed the young man in the picture, and why he holds the medallion in his hands, remains a mystery. For the past 50 years, the canvas has been exhibited on lease at the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
At the January auction, Sotheby’s also exhibited a number of other masterpieces of the Renaissance and paintings by famous artists of the 18-19 century.
A bottle of Gautier cognac from 1762 was sold at auction at Sotheby’s for 145 thousand dollars – one of the oldest surviving cognacs in the world.
At the American auction, Julien’s Auctions the lyrics of the song The Beatles “Hey Jude” by Paul McCartney went under the hammer for 910 thousand dollars.
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