Bronzino’s portrait, returned to a repressed family, will be sold by auction
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The painting by the Italian master is estimated at 3 to 5 million
The Second World War is long over, as is the power of the Nazis, but Germany is still paying reparations to this day. Recently, the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry signed a note demanding that Germany pay about $1.3 trillion for damage caused during the Second World War. The German authorities have not yet reacted to Poland’s statement. But recently they returned to the heiress of the Jewish collector Isla Hesselberger a painting by Bronzino, which the Nazis once forced the owner to sell, and give the proceeds to the construction of a concentration camp.
“Portrait of a Man” by the famous Italian master, who worked under the pseudonym Agnolo Bronzino (real name – Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano), will be put up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York in January 2023. Experts estimate the work in the range of 3 to 5 million dollars.
In 1927, this canvas was acquired by the Hesselberger family of a textile businessman. But then they were forced to sell their estate along with a collection of works of art, which included a painting by Bronzino. The proceeds were forced to give to the construction of a concentration camp. According to the Artnews portal, in November 1941 the family was deported to German-occupied Lithuania and killed, only Isla Hesselberger managed to escape. She left for the USA.
The painting was to become part of the unrealized Hitler Museum in Linz (Austria), and after the fall of the Nazi regime for a long time remained in the possession of the German government. Then it was handed over to the experts of the auction house Sotheby’s for evaluation. Experts have established the origin of the work and the authorship of Bronzino (the work was first attributed to another Italian artist – Jacopino del Conte). Experts suggest that this may be a self-portrait of Bronzino, which is why they call it “extremely rare.” They also found out the dramatic fate of the picture.
Hesselberger’s heirs filed a formal lawsuit against the German government, and as a result, the painting was returned to them. Now they are going to put it up for sale, and donate the proceeds to charity.
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