And then, of course, there’s that $450 million Leonardo, now cruising on a super yacht.
Despite these high profile sensations, the market can still be fertile ground.
“I bought something by a very big-name artist for nothing in a small sale the other day,” Beddington says. “I was absolutely astonished that no one else noticed.”
What It Means For You
Continuous reappraisal in the old masters market is, from the right angle, only good news for an interested public.
The Rembrandts in the Rijksmuseum are not going to be uncovered as fakes any time soon, but there’s an element of mystery and endless potential for the dozens of paintings and drawings that may or may not be the work of a genius.
Moreover, this uncertainty can add an organic element to a field that laypeople often consider musty, even boring in comparison to the dynamism and drama of contemporary art.
“When the really, really reliable expert on Frans Hals died at an advanced aged, suddenly a year or two later there were a lot of new Frans Hals paintings popping up," Beddington says. “The new Frans Hals expert has a totally different approach than the old Frans Hals expert” to authentication.
Old masters paintings, in other words, can change with the times just like everything else.
“Some things do reappear,” Van Haeften says. “That’s part of the excitement of dealing with old masters. You just have to think out of the box and keep an open mind.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.