Two Groundbreaking Works by Titans of Old Master Art Highlight Sotheby's Master Paintings Evening Sale In New York on 29 January

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s THE MADONNA OF THE ROSARY WITH ANGELS The Last Major Altarpiece by the Artist in Private Hands, Unseen on the Market for over 30 Years Estimated in Excess of $15 Million

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Peter Paul Rubens' Newly Rediscovered Masterwork THE VIRGIN AND CHRIST CHILD, WITH SAINTS ELIZABETH AND JOHN THE BAPTIST A Critical New Addition to Rubens Scholarship, Will Make its First Appearance at Auction Since 1946 Estimated to Achieve $6/8 Million

NEW YORK, 29 November 2019 – Sotheby's is pleased to announce two major works that will highlight the Master Paintings Evening Sale in New York on 29 January 2020.

The headline work of the Master Paintings Evening Sale will be Giambattista Tiepolo’s The Madonna of the Rosary with Angels, which is the last major altarpiece by the Venetian artist in private hands. Painted in 1735, The Madonna of the Rosary with Angels is a mature early work, dating from a period that is considered Tiepolo’s best and one that brought him recognition as the greatest painter of 18th-century Europe. Major works of such astounding quality by Tiepolo are rare on the international market, for much of his work was carried out in frescoes and altarpieces that remain in situ or are located in museums. Estimated in excess of $15 million, the monumental painting is the largest and most valuable offering of the artist's work to come to market.

The auction will also include Sir Peter Paul Rubens’ The Virgin and Christ Child, With Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist (estimate $6/8 million), a newly rediscovered masterwork that has been in private collections since 1946 when it was last sold at auction, and has never before been exhibited in the UK. The painting was not widely known to scholars and researchers and was not previously recorded in the official Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard. Through research led by Sotheby's Otto Naumann, the painting will now appear in a forthcoming Rubenianum volume, and is believed to be the prime version of the painting. A well-known likely workshop version, which is part of the Thyssen Collection in Spain and is believed to have been painted circa 1618, has many subtle variations in style that are attributed to the inclusion of Anthony van Dyck in Rubens' workshop. The present painting is believed to be an earlier version, circa 1612, and is a major discovery that establishes the painting's place in Rubens’ officially recognized body of work.