SHORT TAKES : Bernini Work Unsold at Auction
A white marble bust by Gianlorenzo Bernini went unsold at auction today when bids failed to reach the sellers’ minimum price.
Bidding at Christie’s auction house reached $6 million for the 32 3/4-inch bust of Pope Gregory XV. But the sculpture, made in 1621, had been expected to sell for more than $7 million, and it was withdrawn.
Bernini, one of the greatest sculptors of the Baroque Age, was 23 when he made the bust, the year of the Pope’s election. It portrays a bareheaded Gregory wearing a cape embroidered with images of St. Peter and St. Paul.
It had been offered by Joseph M. Tanenbaum and his wife, Toby, who bought it in 1983. It has been exhibited at the Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, where the Tanenbaums live.
Art consigned for auction can be withdrawn if it fails to reach the confidential “reserve price,” established in advance.
Bidding for the Bernini started at $3 million in a packed auction room.
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