Painting in ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ row to auction in New York

NEW YORK, Jan 23, 2010 (AFP) - A painting that once triggered a major art world row after being mistakenly identified as the work of Leonardo da Vinci will go on auction in New York this week.

No one really knows who painted “La Belle Ferronniere” and it will go on the block at Sotheby’s on Thursday listed as by “a follower of Leonardo da Vinci.”

The oil painting, depicting a richly dressed woman looking out over her left side, is estimated to sell for 300,000 to 500,000 dollars — an absolute bargain compared to an authentic da Vinci.

“It’s clearly not by Leonardo, although there was a huge amount of controversy,” said George Wachter, co-chairman of Sotheby’s Old Master Paintings department. “If it was an authentic Leonardo, it would be worth more than 250 million dollars.” Experts haven’t always been that confident.

In 1929, “La Belle Ferronniere” provoked one of the art world’s most heated debates and almost brought a foremost international expert to his knees.-

AFP