Just a few blocks away from Louvre Museum in France where his famous works are on display, another Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece has found its way to a French auction house. The drawing is one out of eight "The Martyred St. Sebastian" art pieces created by the Renaissance genius who lived from 1452- 1519.
The drawing was from a retired doctor who also acquired it from his father. Tajan, the French auction house that takes care of Da Vinci's work put a $16 million price tag on it. It is the first masterpiece of Da Vinci to be discovered in the last 15 years.
When the director of the auction house laid his sight on the artwork, he knew that there is something special about it. He asked the help of an art enthusiast, Patrick de Bayser, for a second opinion. De Bayser noticed that the artist who drew it is left-handed( similar to da Vinci). According to New York Times, De Bayser also discovered two-minute scientific drawings at the back of the paper, with small notes on them.
To confirm its authenticity, Tajan got in touch with Carmen C. Bambach, curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A report from GZ.com revealed that Bambach couldn't believe what she saw. "My eyes jumped out of their sockets," she said. She believed that the discovered sketch is the most beautiful among other St. Sebastian drawings. It is one of the eight sketches of the martyred saint listed on da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus notebooks.
The spokesman for Tajan confirmed that the public auction for da Vinci's sketch will be on June this coming year. Louvre Museum might participate in the auction as mandated by French laws. The law in France requires Louvre Museum to participate in the auction to keep work of arts inside the country.
Da Vinci is also the artist behind the smiles of Mona Lisa. In a report by Jobs & Hire, one organization claims that the Italian genius created a Mona Lisa before painting another Mona Lisa which we know today.
