Spanish Queen to Break Velazquez's Price Record at Auction

The portrait of the Spanish Queen, Isabel de Borbón, painted by artist Diego Velázquez, is likely to break the existing price record for the artist's works.

This was reported by The Guardian.

Thus, the estimated value of Velazquez's painting "Isabel de Borbón, Queen of Spain" currently stands at thirty-five million US dollars. This figure is twice the current auction record for Velazquez's works - $16.9 million.

The 2-metre-high canvas depicts Isabel aged 20 dressed in a richly adorned black court dress and holding a fan in one hand with the other resting on the back of a chair.

"Royal portraiture allowed Velázquez to push forward art in new and revolutionary ways and this grand portrayal of Isabel de Borbón is an exceptional example of the artist at the height of his powers, shaping the direction of portraiture for generations to follow. No other Velázquez paintings of this scale and importance have come to the market in more than half a century," said auction chairman George Wachter.

It's worth noting that Velazquez was appointed the court painter by the then King of Spain and Portugal, Philip IV. This gave the artist the opportunity to create and preserve a large body of work, including royal portraits, representatives of wealthy families, and even court jesters.

The work "Isabel de Borbón, Queen of Spain" hung for a long time in the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid. Later, the portrait made its way to France and in the 19th century was acquired by commercial banker and collector Henry Hutt. After that, the painting, for the most part, was kept in private collections, and in 1978, the current owners acquired it.

Previously, The Gaze reported that the landscape "Here Stopped Time" by the globally renowned Ukrainian artist Ivan Marchuk was sold at Sotheby's auction for a record-breaking $81,500. The initial estimated value of the painting was approximately 40-60 thousand euros.

Earlier, the painting "Woman with a Watch" by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso was sold for $139 million. The artwork depicts his lover and muse Marie-Thérèse Walter. This work became the second most expensive painting by the artist.