He buys a drawing for €26 at a garage sale… It's a Renaissance masterpiece worth more than €8 million
When he pays €26 to buy this drawing at a garage sale, this man does not suspect for a single second that it could be a treasure executed by Albrecht Dürer, considered the greatest German master of Renaissance. Dated around 1503, it is estimated at more than 8 million euros.
It's a simple story with an extraordinary ending. In 2017, a man living in Massachusetts visits a garage sale. Amid the trinkets and various objects, he discovers a drawing representing the Virgin and Child. He buys it for 30 dollars, or around 26€. He goes home with the engraving under his arm. The man is far from suspecting that this creation, a priori banal, is in reality a real treasure.
He is content to hang it up at home and show it to his friends, including Brainerd Phillipson, owner of a bookstore selling old and rare books. The duo notices that the creation bears the initials AD on the bottom. Without certainty, Brainerd Phillipson hypothesizes that it may be an original work by Albrecht Dürer, considered the greatest German artist of the Renaissance.
In 2019, Clifford Schorer, an art dealer from Boston goes to a party in Massachusetts. Looking for a gift, he stops at Brainerd Phillipson's bookstore. The two men discuss, and Brainerd Phillipson ends up telling him about this famous drawing possessed by his friend.
Skeptical, the art dealer agrees to examine it. Knowing that the last discovery of a drawing by the artist dates back more than 100 years, his hopes are slim. By analyzing the artwork presented, a doubt arises. The art dealer explains to CNN: " I thought to myself: ' Either this is the biggest fake I've ever seen, or this is a masterpiece . ' He describes this discovery as "extremely exciting ".
Thus begins a three-year epic. The art dealer travels to the four corners of the world to authenticate the sketch. Agnews Gallery - the auction house in possession of the artwork, brings in two experts from Albrecht Dürer to examine it. Their verdict is final. Both historians believe it to be genuine. In an exceptional state of preservation, the sketch could have been created around 1503. It could be a sketch of The Virgin among a multitude of animals, created at the same time.
This drawing, bought for 26 euros, could be worth more than 10 million dollars, or around 8.7 million euros.
Seen in "Femina" Cynthia Lahoma Video about this drawing
Comments