Twice-stolen Titian painting found at bus stop was sold at auction, reports The Guardian.
The Venetian Renaissance masterpiece “Fleeing Holiday in Egypt“ was created in 1508. Painted on a wooden panel about half a meter wide, the painting depicts the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus and Joseph in her arms.
At the beginning of the 17th century it belonged to a spice merchant from Venice and in the following centuries passed from hand to hand throughout Europe. At the beginning of July, the painting was put up for auction by Christie’s auction house. The estimated price of the painting was estimated at 15-25 million pounds sterling.
The buyer, who has not been named, bought her for £17.6m. This is a record high price for a work by Titian. In 1809, the painting was stolen from the Belvedere Palace in Vienna by Napoleon Bonaparte's troops.
In 1878 it was bought by the 4th Marquess of Bath from Christie's. In the mid-1990s, however, it was again stolen from the Marquis' residence in Wiltshire. They searched for the painting for seven years. It was discovered by Charles Hill, former head of art and antiquities at Scotland Yard.
Titian's masterpiece was found wrapped in plastic at a bus stop in Richmond.