The Painting That Set Rubens' Auction Record After Years in the Shadows
3 min read · 07 Feb 2025
Massacre of the Innocents. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
Peter Paul Rubens, Massacre of the Innocents (1609-11), sold for $69.69m ($45m) at Sotheby's in London on July 10, 2002, becoming the most expensive Old Master to sell at auction.
The painting of a biblical scene had only recently been reattributed to Rubens. It had long been hanging in an Austrian monastry, attributed to one of his assistants, Jan van den Hoecke.
The record breaking painting was sold by an 89-year-old Austrian woman, who always disliked the painting she had inherited, hence lending it to a monastery.
It was bought by Canada's richest man, the media mogul Kenneth Thomson, and is now a highlight of the Thomson Collection in the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Portrait of a Man as Mars. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
The sale beat Ruben’s previous auction record by $62.19m, a 800% rise. The previous record was set by Portrait of a Man as Mars (1620), which sold for $7.5m at Sotheby's on January 28, 2000.
A Brief History of Rubens at Auction
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002-07-10 | Massacre of the Innocents | $69.69m | 829 % | Sotheby's | London |
2000-01-28 | Portrait of a Man as Mars | $7.5m | 37 % | Sotheby's | New York |
1980-07-11 | Samson and Delilah | $5.47m | 551 % | Christie's | London |
1969-12-03 | The rape of the Sabine women. | $840,000 | 9 % | Sotheby's | London |
1959-06-24 | The Adoration of the Magi | $770,000 | 733 % | Sotheby's | London |
1958-07-02 | Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek in elaborate architectural setting | $92,400 | 136 % | Sotheby's | London |
1957-06-26 | Adoration of the Magi with the Madonna and Joseph in ruined temple | $39,200 | 47 % | Sotheby's | London |
1947-12-12 | Holy Family with infant St John | $26,600 | - | Christie's | London |
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