The 15th-century portrait achieved the highest ever price for an Old Master painting at Sotheby's.
ADVERTISEMENT
A Sandro Botticelli masterpiece has sold for a record-breaking $92.2 million (€75.9 million) at Sotheby's in New York.
The 15th-century portrait surpassed its $80 million estimate and achieved the highest ever price for an Old Master at the auction house.
"In exceptionally good condition, this painting of a Young Man Holding a Roundel embodies Sandro Botticelli’s greatest achievements as a portraitist," Sotheby's said.
It's one of the greatest Renaissance works to come to market and was last purchased at auction in 1982 at Christie’s in London.
"A picture of his quality and this impact, this beauty, really hasn't been on the market in many years," said Christopher Apostle, head of Sotheby's Department of Old Master Paintings.
Botticelli's other masterpieces include "Primavera" and "The Birth of Venus".
The price achieved makes the portrait one of the most valuable of any era ever sold, and also the second most valuable Old Master painting ever sold at auction.