Raphael Drawing to Go on Sale at Christies in December
October 20th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
An A4 sized study entitled ‘Head of a Muse’ drawn by the Renaissance master Raphael (1483 – 1520) dating from between 1508 and 1511, is to go on sale at Christie’s auction house next month.
The work was created by the artist as a study for a figure in Parnassus, one of the series of four frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican, commissioned by Pope Julius II.
Christie’s experts believe this piece could sell for double the record price attained for an old master drawing – currently £8.1 million for a piece by Michelangelo in 2000.
The auction house has put an estimate of £12 million to £16 million on ‘Head of a Muse’ which has not been seen in public for more than 25 years, or at auction for 150 years.
The sale also includes an important portrait by Rembrandt (1606-1669), expected to fetch £18 million to £25 million.
