Jacques discovers he is a millionaire with a painting he saw all his life.

It was a childhood companion for me, it has always hung on the wall in our house. I grew up with that painting." This family painting, which he had appraised on the advice of a friend, was to make a retired surveyor a millionaire. This excerpt from "Special Envoy" tells the story of an extraordinary portrait. When he was a child, Jacques played toy soldiers under the gentle and questioning gaze of this portrait. Now retired, he decided to have the family painting he grew up with and about which he knew nothing about an appraisal. He then learns that the portrait is that of a little girl with an extraordinary story... The brown eyes in a hair-covered face are those of a child named Antonietta Gonsalvus who suffered from hypertrichosis, a genetic disorder inherited from her father. Petrus Gonsalvus had been offered as a curiosity at the court of Henry II when he was 10 years old, and his marriage to a very beautiful woman is said to have inspired the story of "Beauty and the Beast". Painted by a woman, a committed painting. The portrait is believed to be the work of a very rare and sought-after Italian Renaissance painter, Lavinia Fontana. Auctioneers Philippe and Aymeric Rouillac immediately grasped the full potential of this discovery on the art market. "Today, all museums are looking for paintings that allow us to tell the story of history as it happened, and not as we wanted to show it. Maybe more inclusive paintings." For Aymeric Rouillac, this portrait "ticked all the boxes". In addition, her father adds, emphasizing "a communion between the artist and this child", this "committed painting" is "painted by a woman. There is no such thing as a woman artist in the sixteenth century..." Before it went on sale, there was still a mystery to be solved. Another version of the portrait of Antonietta Gonsalvus, almost identical, can be seen at the Château de Blois. Is James' a copy of it? According to Turquin's expertise, both are from the same hand. Lavinia Fontana is said to have made several versions of the same painting, a common practice when a painting appealed to several buyers. His works are now highly rated, and when one of them goes up for sale, it's a small event. In June 2023, the portrait of Antonietta Gonsalvus was the revelation of the one that was held in a castle in Touraine. The buyers were on the phone, on the internet, or in the room like Jacques, the owner. Incredulous, he intends to raise the stakes... "100 000, 200 000, 300 000... At that point, we thought, 'Where is this going to end?' It's like a hurricane passing by..." And then, "divine surprise", they reach one million euros. Jacques can't believe it: "It wasn't conceivable from a neophyte's point of view. Professionals could envisage it, regulars... but not the average person." Finally, the portrait was sold for €1,250,000 without fees. A world record.
seen on France Info
video in French