Art: record auction in France, design by Bernini for 1.9 million euros

PARIS. New world record for a drawing by Gian Lorenzo Bernini auctioned in France: it is a sanguine dating from 1630 to 1640, sold for over 1.9 million euros (auction fees included). The work, whose pre-sale estimate was between 30,000 and 50,000 euros, depicts a seated man, surrounded by plant decorations, and was sold by the Actéon auction house in Compiègne, in the north of the country. The previous record for a design by the genius of the Italian Baroque had been reached in 2014 and was equal to 139 thousand euros: “We have therefore pulverized that result and it is something that makes us extremely happy”, commented the auctioneer. , Dominique Le Coent. The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, but he would be an Anglo-Saxon. There are very few known drawings by Bernini: in addition to this, art historians believe that there are seven others, “all preserved in museums, including one in the Uffizi in Florence”. Numerous international collectors participated in the auction, transmitted via the web, also by telephone. The sanguine was “discovered” during a succession. The design was initially attributed to the French sculptor Pierre Puget, active in the same years as Bernini. In 2019 the auction house Actéon reached another record for a work by another great Italian master, Cimabue: his «Christ mocked» was sold for over 24 million.