A youthful vagabond Titian with an
adventurous past - twice stolen and once left at a London bus
stop - is to go under the hammer at Christie's in the British
capital on July 2.
Painted by the High Renaissance master when he was no more than
20, Rest on the Flight to Egypt has been the desire of emperors,
arch dukes and art thieves in its over five centuries of
history.
First documented in the home of a Venetian spice merchant at the
start of the 17th century, it has adorned palaces in London,
Brussels, Vienna, Paris and latterly Longleat House in
Wiltshire, seat of the marquesses of Bath and the first safari
park outside Africa, from which it was stolen and then recovered
by an art sleuth.
Christie's is putting it up with a reserve of between 15 and 25
million pounds on behalf of the last Marquess of Bath.
After it was stolen from Longleat in 1995 it was found seven
years later without a frame at a London bus stop thanks to art
sleuth Charles Hill, a former Scotland Yard detective.
It then carried a reward of 100,000 pounds, a pittance compared
to the price it is expected to fetch July 2.
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