on Monday, a painting sold for one million dollars at Bruun Rasmussen auctioneers of fine art, and there can be no talk of an established artist, yes actually, there is a possibility that it is one of the 1600-century, the largest, is behind the painting.
so says Mikkel Bogh, director of Statens Museum for Kunst.
Ekstra Bladet has asked him to look at the painting, after it has emerged that the painting was the hammer price on the soaring price, even though it was only rated to 4000 crowns.
Mikkel Bogh suggest that it is either a sketch for a mural. Alternatively, is it a copy of a mural. But surely it’s according to the director, that the painting is from the 1600 century, and that it is painted by a clever artist.’
– It points in the direction of an established artist. There is a bow on the painting, suggesting that it is a arkitekturelement, which could have been painted over a door or a gate in a slot. One would typically make a olieskitse in this size for this purpose. It would be one of the right established artists, who would get such a task. But whether it is the greatest of them all – Charles le Brun, who was employed at the court of the sun king court and worked for the very richest people – it is hard to say, he says.
Up in the left corner on the back of the painting’s frame is a small sign that says le Brun. But it can be any type, sounds from kunstekspert Mikkel Bogh. Photo: Bruun Rasmussen
He said, after having seen the painting on a computer screen, and it is therefore the subject, that naturally follows with, he said.
Since Monday there has been speculated in whether the painting is painted by Charles le Brun, because that on the back is a small brand, which apparently is ’the spaniard’ and ‘le brun’. It should, however, not put in, says Mikkel Bogh:
– It can be any type. I can also write Leonardo on the back of a drawing that my daughter made. It has no special authority, that is it. If you go down in our great tegningesamling is also on the old passepartoutrammer, what different have guessed at over the years. It is the case that you do – writing on the edge, who you think it is, says Mikkel Bogh.
There can be different interests in to cause the names on the back of the works. The one part is the guesswork out of who it is. The second part is to revalue value:
– It is clear that a painting by an ‘unknown artist’ is not the same worth as a painting by le Brun, who was the king of painting in France in the 1600s. He was director of the gobelinfabrikkerne, and he decorated the whole of Versailles. He was a big gun.
But museumsdirektøren dare not to reject completely that there is talk about Charles le Brun:
– I make me highly doubtful about whether it is a le Brun painting. But I would also like to say that it is not just an amateur painting. You can see that it is made by a clever artist. And if it isn’t made of le Brun himself, it can be painted by one who has known him. He founded the academy of fine arts in France, and it served as a model for the other academies also including it in the Købenavn.
– This means that it can be difficult to see whether it is le Brun, or if it is one of his successors. But the probability that it is him, is not great, although it can not be excluded.
at the same time points Mikkel Bogh, that can sit experts abroad, who have a different knowledge than the recognized experts at Bruun Rasmussen:
– It may be that there is a connoisseur, which has a much greater detailed knowledge of the le Brun, than I have.
– It may well be that there is a director somewhere abroad and have judged that this is with 80 percent certainty le Brun. And so is it someone who has enough money to make the purchase. There is also a certain probability that it is a art dealer, who seems to be able to defend to sell this on as le Brun, for example, for 1.5 million dollars. We don’t know, but this is how it works.
Mikkel Bogh guess that it is an established art dealer
– It is often professional kunstkøbere, that the collector of such works in order to sell them on. When they have purchased such a painting, a work in progress with hiring experts in order to make it probable that it is le Brun. And when it is upheld, you go either to a museum or send it in a new auction and selling it as a le Brown.
– It is not unlikely that it pops up again in a few years as a work that is attributed to le Brun. And if you who have bought it are very lucky, they can prove that it is him.
Bruun Rasmussen does not want to tell who the buyer or seller is. Just now waiting for the auction house, the money gets transferred, so the deal has officially gone through.