Newly Discovered Botticelli Masterpiece Could Fetch Millions at Auction
Newly Discovered Botticelli Masterpiece Could Fetch Millions at Auction A newly discovered painting by Sandro Botticelli, which was found in a private collection in Switzerland earlier this year, is set to go up for auction at Christie's in Paris on December 5th and is expected to fetch millions of dollars. The painting, which is believed to be a preliminary sketch for Botticelli's famous "The Birth of Venus", is unsigned and has been attributed to the artist on the basis of its style and subject matter. According to Christie's, the work is "one of the most beautiful and poetic pictures by Botticelli that has come to light in recent times." The painting was discovered by art historian Neil MacGregor during his research for a book on Botticelli. MacGregor said in a statement: "What has thrilled me about this picture from the outset is its sheer beauty and the delicacy of its execution. It seems somehow miraculous that it survived until now ...