A Renaissance drawing from one of the most famous collections in Britain sold at Sotheby's in London on Wednesday night for $47.8 million, slightly more than twice its high $23.8 million estimate.
Four bidders fought for 17 minutes to win Raphael's “Head of Apostle,'' a study dating from around 1519 that was created for a figure in one of the artist's greatest late paintings, “Transfiguration,'' which belongs to the Vatican Museum in Rome.
The drawing, in black chalk, was from Chatsworth, the Derbyshire home of the Duke of Devonshire (who is deputy chairman of Sotheby's board of directors). It had belonged to the Duke's family since William Cavendish, the 2nd Duke of Devonshire, acquired it sometime either late in the 17th century or early in the 18th.
“Head of Apostle'' isn't the first drawing by Raphael to achieve a staggering sum. “Head of Muse,'' a study for a figure in “Parnassus,'' one of four frescoes also in the Vatican, brought a slight ly higher price â€" $47.9 million â€" when it was bought by the New York financier Leon Black at Christie's in London three years ago.
