A Renaissance drawing from a prized British collection is being sold at Sotheby's in London on Dec. 5, the auction house is expected to announce on Tuesday.
Raphael's “Head of an Apostle,'' dating from around 1519, was created as a study for a figure in one of the artist's greatest late paintings, “Transfiguration,'' that belongs to the Vatican Museum in Rome. The drawing, which was executed in black chalk, is from Chatsworth, the Derbyshire home of the Duke of Devonshire (who also happens to be deputy chairman of Sotheby's board of directors.) Estimated to sell for $15.8 million to $23.8 million, it has belonged to the Duke's family since William Cavendish, the 2nd Duke of Devonshire, acquired it som etime in either in the late 17th or early 18th centuries.
Chatsworth is a magical name to any old master collector. Two auctions of extraordinary drawings from there were sold at Christie's in London in 1984 and 1987. Both were landmark auctions at which institutions like the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and collectors like Ian Woodner snapped up drawings by artists including Rembrandt, Barocci, Poussin and Rubens at record prices.
And when a prized Raphael drawing comes on the market it too is an event. One was purchased up by the New York financier Leon Black at Christie's in London in December, 2009 for $47.6 million. “Head of an Apostle'' is not the only work from Chatsworth that will be for sale at Sotheby's in December. It is also selling two 15th century illuminated manuscripts.
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