Long-lost Rubens 'masterpiece' sells for almost 3 million euros

The painting "Christ on the Cross" by the famous Antwerp painter Peter Paul Rubens, which had been missing since 1613 and was recently rediscovered, was sold on Sunday for nearly three million euros, including fees, at an auction in Versailles, near Paris.

The auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat said the painting was authenticated by German art historian Nils Buttner, known for his research on the master of the Flemish Baroque. Its provenance was certified through methods including X-ray imaging and pigment analysis, he added.