On Tuesday 25 November, the Old Masters & 19th-Century Art sale, led by Matthieu Fournier, achieved a total of €21,245,821 / $24,607,159, fees included — three times the presale estimate. In a packed saleroom, David Contemplating the Head of Goliath by Guido Reni — an impressive 17th-century composition rediscovered after more than two hundred years — sold for €12,386,600, setting a world auction record for a painting by the artist.
Other highlights included a work by Jean-François de Troy, a composition balancing between portrait and genre scene, which realised €4,067,600. A Bouquet in a Porcelain Wan-Li Vase by Osias Beert, one of the earliest representatives of the Flemish still life, was hammered down at €503,120.
Portrait of a Woman by Anne Henriette Adélaïde, known as Adèle Tornézy, achieved €582,560. Finally, an oil on canvas by Francesco Guardi, depicting the Rialto Bridge in Venice, sold for €556,080. The sale also highlighted a group of bronze and terracotta sculptures, including a pair of busts with reddish-brown patina by Pietro Cipriani (Lucius Septimius Geta and Plautilla), which realised €251,560.