Spain: government blocks the release of a painting attributed to Velázquez

Spain ’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports has issued in recent days (the news is from Saturday), at the proposal of the Directorate General of Culture, an Orden Ministerial (equivalent to the Italian Ministerial Decree ) through which it has declared inexportable a Portrait of a Maiden attributed to Diego Velázquez, the sale of which is scheduled for tomorrow at the Abalarte House in Madrid.

The painting, explain the Ministry, “is of great interest” to the Spanish historical heritage, “and although complete technical studies are lacking, everything seems to indicate that it is a work attributable to Velázquez.” From the auction house they recall that the state, when blocking the export of a painting, is wont to exercise its right of first refusal on the property. When news of the sale had been released last April 4, Abalarte had speculated that the work might attract the attention of major international collectors, not least because of the value judged to be “million-dollar” (the base price of the sale has not been disclosed, and even a day after the auction, on the house’s website, under the heading of the price, the words “consult the department” appear).

The painting has been attributed to the great seventeenth-century Spanish painter by art historian Richard de Willermin, Abalarte’s consultant: according to the expert, it could be a portrait of Velázquez’s sister, painted in his youth, around 1617. However, more in-depth analysis is still lacking, and other specialists in seventeenth-century Spanish art have yet to comment.

The owner of the work (unpublished, it is reiterated) is an 80-year-old gentleman from a family of noble origins, who has made it known that the painting has been in his family’s possession for at least a hundred years. However, the provenance of the work is unknown.

Source: El Mundo and others

Image: Attributed to Diego Velázquez, Portrait of a Maiden (c. 1617; oil on canvas, 57.5 x 44 cm; Private collection)

Spain: government blocks the release of a painting attributed to Velázquez

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.