Raphael portrait to be auctioned for $30M

A rare work by Renaissance painter Raphael will be put on the block and is expected to fetch up to $30 million US, according to auction house Christie's.

Christie's officials say the portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici, duke of Urbino and ruler of Florence from 1513 to 1519, will be sold in London July 5 and could set a record price for a work by Raphael. The current record stands at $10.4 million US for a black crayon drawing sold in 1996.

The portrait has not been seen in public for almost 40 years after New York art dealer Ira Spanierman bought it at auction for an unknown amount in 1968.

"We are excited to offer this remarkable work by Raphael, one of the most renowned and accomplished of European artists," said Richard Knight, international director of Christie's Old Master Department.

"The importance of the artist and the sitter, together with the provenance and the historical context behind this painting's creation, make it one of the most significant old master pictures to be offered at auction for a generation."

Painting was an introduction to future wife

The work, measuring 97 by 79 centimetres, dates to 1518 and shows Medici posing slightly to the left against a forest background. The duke is clothed in a gold-embroidered costume with red puffy sleeves. In his right hand, he holds a miniature portrait of a woman — likely his future wife.

Pope Leo X commissioned the painting after he arranged a marriage between his nephew, Medici, and Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, a cousin of Francois I, king of France.

The couple had never met, so the painting is a kind of introduction.

"It's designed to impress … to show the power, the importance and good looks of the sitter," said Paul Raison, an Old Master expert at Christie's.

They married in 1518 and had a daughter, Catherine de' Medici, who went on to marry King Henry II of France.

Raphael, born Raphael Sanzio in 1483, became a celebrated architect and painter known for his delicate and graceful style.

He began working for the Vatican at the age of 25, painting rooms and designing buildings for each successive pope as well as portraits of high-ranking officials and people.

The artist, who never married, died at age 37.