Rare painting found behind a door sold for €600k at auction in france

THE PAINTING BY THE SON OF FLEMISH MASTER PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER WAS DISCOVERED DURING A ROUTINE INVENTORY CHECK A rare painting DISCOVERED BY CHANCE during a routine inventory check at a

French home has fetched €600,000 at auction. The piece was painted by Pieter Brueghel the Younger - son of the master Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder - around 1615. It was stumbled

upon at a home in Amboise (Indre-et-Loire) near Tours. An unnamed Swiss buyer bought the piece at an auction in Paris on Tuesday (March 28), although it’s unclear whether the purchase was

for a museum or a private collection. Despite its previous storage location, the piece was in remarkably good condition, contributing to the final cost of the painting. FOUND BY CHANCE

BEHIND A DOOR Best known for making copies of his father’s work, Brueghel the Younger also created a number of original pieces himself. The former owners of the painting thought the piece

was a copy, nicknaming it “the crust”, and had left the painting idly behind a door. During a routine inventory check, however, it caught the eye of auctioneer Mairo de Lussac, an avid art

historian who believed it to be a genuine piece. Despite not being signed, the painting was quickly verified as genuine by art historians. The painting was expected to fetch between €600,000

and €800,000 at the auction, with the final bid being on the lower side of estimations. With all of the additional costs, however, the Swiss buyer will pay €780,000. RELATED ARTICLES FRENCH

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