Painting found in barn is auctioned for more than R$30 million

Abstract Frans Post's 17th-century painting depicting Olinda was auctioned for around R$33.3 million after being restored; discovered in a barn in the USA, it is considered one of the artist's most important works.

A 17th-century painting depicting the city of Olinda has fetched $6 million at auction. The piece, which was painted more than 300 years ago by Dutch artist Frans Post, was found in the basement of a barn.

The sale took place at the end of May this year. In an interview with the international luxury magazine “Robb Report”, the president and co-world director of Old Master paintings at Sotheby's, the auction house responsible for the sale, George Wachter stated that the painting “View of Olinda, Brazil, with Ruins of the Jesuit Church” was found in 1998, in Connecticut, in the United States .

“It was filthy, black, dirty. You could barely see,” he says.

The 24-by-35-inch piece was restored by Nancy Krieg, a renowned New York conservator of Dutch and Flemish paintings. She said the restoration process involved cotton swabs and solvents. Before the sale, the piece was estimated to fetch between $6 million and $8 million , due to its quality and its place in art history.

It is dated 1666, in oil on Western European oak panel. It circulated among Parisian collections and was purchased in the 19th century by the art dealer Charles Simon for 160 francs, on behalf of the cardinal and maternal uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte, Joseph Fesch.

It is not known how it could have ended up in a barn. Wachter's speculation is that it had been "hidden" for at least 100 years but was discovered.

“ This would be one of his greatest works ,” says David Pollack, senior vice president and head of old master paintings at the auction house.

Unlike what was expected of Dutch artists of Post’s time, who painted local and familiar landscapes, he traveled to Brazil. “He painted for a very open and ready market. That was his calling card, these views of Brazil. And having something of this scale certainly puts him at the top, without a doubt,” explains the expert.