France, Nov. 30 -- "Christ on the Cross" went under the hammer at the Osenat auction house in Fontainebleu just outside Paris, where ittopped an estimate of€1 million to€2 million.

Excluding fees, the winning bid was€2.3 million.

Painted by Rubens around 1620, the work was found by the head of the auction house in September 2024 among belongings at a private mansion on the Left Bank.

"It was painted by Rubens at the height of his talent," Jean-Pierre Osenat told AFP news agency, calling the painting "a masterpiece".

"It's the very beginning of Baroque painting, depicting a crucified Christ, isolated, luminous and standing out vividly against a dark and threatening sky," he said.

The auctioneer compared the discovery...