New Botticelli record as 'Madonna' sold for over $10 million

New York - A Renaissance painting by the Italian master, Sandro Botticelli reached a record price at Christies on January 30, as "Madonna and Child with Young Saint John the Baptist" sold for $10,442,500.

Reportedly the painting traveled to Hong Kong, London and Moscow before it arrived at Rockefeller Plaza in New York, where it was auctioned by Christies. The sale of the painting set a record for the artist Botticelli at auction, as the masterpiece fetched twice its original estimate. The painting, which dates to the early 1490's, was sold over the phone, just a few minutes into the bidding and the buyer's identity has not been disclosed. The painting had been dubbed "the Rockefeller Madonna" by art collectors, after John D. Rockefeller acquired it in the 1930's.

Christies

"Madonna and Child with Young Saint John the Baptist", by Sandro Botticelli , sold on the Renaissance Sale at Christie's on January 30, 2013

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The previous auction record of Botticelli's work was in 2006, when his “Madonna and Child, with a pomegranate, in an alcove with roses behind” sold for a big $7.5 million at Christie’s. The sale total including the Buyer's Premium on the Christie's Renaissance sale was $42,646,850, with the highest-grossing lot being "The Madonna and Child" by Fra Bartolommeo, which was painted in the 1490s under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci. That painting sold for $12,962,500.

Christies

"The Madonna and Child" by Fra Bartolommeo, sold on the Renaissance Sale at Christie's on January 30, 2013

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