RUBENS:
Portrait of the Artist’s Daughter, Clara Serena
– A RARE GLIMPSE INTO THE PRIVATE WORK OF ONE OF THE MASTERS OF WESTERN ART –
Christie’s will offer Portrait of Clara Serena, the Artist’s Daughter by Peter Paul Rubens in the London Old Masters Evening Sale on 5 July, during Classic Week (estimate: £3-5 million). Never intended for public display, this seminal work offers a rare glimpse into the private life of the greatest artist of the Northern Baroque. The portrait is on public view in New York until 5 May, later going on view in Hong Kong from 24 to 28 May, before being exhibited in London in the lead up to the sale.
Henry Pettifer, Head of Old Master Paintings, Christie’s London: “Rubens’ paintings of his family members, freer and bolder than those of his wealthy clientele, count amongst his greatest achievements in portraiture. This spontaneous likeness of Clara Serena, his only daughter with his wife Isabella Brant, painted around the time of her untimely death at the age of twelve, is extraordinary for its intimacy and timeless appeal. Its appearance on the market this summer comes after the picture has featured in recent high profile exhibitions at the Rubenshuis in Antwerp and the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, and it is the first major work by Rubens to appear at Christie’s in London since the record breaking sale of Lot and his Daughters in July 2016”.
