During 2016 more than 35,000 Old Master lots were sold in the West, and a number of
new records were hammered for 15th century works and even more for 16th and 17th
century works. These included works by Valentin de Boulogne, Jacob Jordaens, Vermeyen
Jan Cornelisz, Agnesius Jacobus and Jan Metsys, but above all Orazio Gentileschi, one of
the rarest and most sought-after signatures. The Caravaggesque artist has a new record at
nearly $30.5 million after the sale of his mythological painting, Danae, acquired by the
Getty Museum, one of the few Western museums able to afford such a gem. The work
was put on sale by Sotheby’s in New York, which, together with London, sells all the best
Old Master works. However, the French market remains a sort of “promised land” where
exceptional works that have remained in private hands (and are sometimes forgotten) are
occasionally rediscovered. Recently a canvas that is possibly by Caravaggio was found in
the South of France and a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci was discovered in the home of a
provincial doctor by an expert from Tajan. The Advisory Commission that declared the
work a “national treasure” described it as “a work of exceptional quality”.
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2016/european-art-a-pillar-
of-the-western-art-market?from=search
