Christie's to offer the 'Hekking Mona Lisa' for €200k - €300k
May 26 2021
Picture: Christie's
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I've spotted that Christie's Paris will be offering up The Hekking Mona Lisa in a single online sale between 11th - 18th June 2021. The work, which is catalogued as 'ÉCOLE ITALIENNE DU DÉBUT DU XVIIe SIÈCLE, SUIVEUR DE LÉONARD DE VINCI', will carry a rather impressive €200k - €300k estimate.
As their catalogue note makes clear, the punchy estimate reflects the growing trend for high prices achieved by copies of Leonardo's iconic painting. Notably, this includes a 17th century version which sold at Sotheby's in New York for $1,695,000, another version of the same date which sold in Paris in November 2019 for €552,500, and third version which sold at Christie's Paris in June 2019 for €162,500.
This particular version receives its name from its previous owner, the antiquarian Raymond Hekking (d.1977), who had made attempts during the 1950s and 60s to prove that his version was the original. Naturally, these claims have since been dropped.
