The painting " The origin of the portrait was revealed by art critics at Sotheby's auction house and was estimated at ? 3.5 million, the Daily Mail writes.. In 1902, the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London as a work of Rubens, after which it was kept in a private collection for 139 years, but in 2017 the portrait was considered the work of a student of Rubens and sold at an auction cheaper than its real value - for 78 thousand. pounds.

At that time, the portrait was cataloged as “belonging to the workshop of the Flemish master Rubens,” which meant that it was painted by one of his assistants, possibly under the supervision of the artist himself. An anonymous buyer who acquired work in 2017 suspected the true origin of the painting. After examination, his guesses were confirmed. Experts proved the authenticity of the picture using an infrared camera. She showed hidden details that indicated changes made by Rubens himself while working on the portrait. Portrait going to put up for auction on July 29. Estimated value of the painting - from 2.5 million to 3.5 million pounds.