LONDON.- Sotheby’s London lifts the veil on the full contents of its Old Master & 19th Century Paintings offerings which, at its heart lies some 30 works to star in an evening auction on 3 December - defined, this season, by rare rediscoveries and works of exceptional historical and scholarly significance. Together, these masterworks represent one of the greatest assemblages of Old Masters presented at Sotheby’s London in the last 6 years. Of the offerings, twelve paintings have not been seen on the secondary market in over four decades - and remarkably, half of those have been seen in public for a century, and in some cases, many more.

Sotheby’s preview exhibition will open to the public on 28 November through to 3 December, bringing to light many treasures long hidden from view, with a third of the works having never before been publicly exhibited, while four will return to the spotlight for the first time after more than 50 years. Ahead of the evening sale, Sotheby’s will also stage a special dedicated auction, Worldwide Grand Tour: The Sven A. Behrendt Collection, on 2 December - a collection gathered over a lifetime of travel across Europe, the United States, and beyond. A highlight of the sale is Hans Bol’s View of Antwerp, a very rare and never-before-seen-in-public watercolour, showing a sweeping panorama of the city with peasants, elegant boaters, and a playful self reference from the artist.

Among the many evening sale highlights are: Hans Eworth’s Portrait of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, appearing at auction for the first time and offering a striking glimpse into the artistry and political intrigue of the Tudor court (estimate: £2–3 million); Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s The Census at Bethlehem, unseen in public for nearly forty years (estimate: £3–5 million); and major rediscoveries by Peter Paul Rubens, from the penetrating Portrait Study of an Old Man (estimate: £1–1.5 million) to the long-lost oil sketch The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne adored by Saints of the House of Habsburg (estimate: £2–3 million). The sale also features the recently rediscovered Saint John on Patmos by Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, unseen for more than a century, capturing Saint John in exile with vivid immediacy and inventive brushwork characteristic of the artist’s late style (estimate: £5–7 million) and a spectacular late 15th Century Flemish Triptych (estimate: £2.5-3.5 million), vibrantly coloured and depicting the five miracles of Christ.

The sale will also feature works from the collection of Dr Hinrich Bischoff, including: Lucas van Valckenborch’s Autumn: Landscape with Archduke Matthias of Austria with members of his court at the Vintage (estimate: £600,000-800,000), the artist’s The Crucifixion of Christ on Mount Calvary (estimate: £300,000-400,000), and Gillis Mostaert the Elder’s A village kermesse (estimate: £300,000-400,000).

On view in tandem with the Evening auction highlights will be selections from the Old Master Paintings Day Auction, 19th and 20th Century European Art Auction, as well as Old Master Prints, featuring exceptional works by the great masters of printmaking, including Dürer’s St. Eustace, a rare impression of Rembrandt’s Hundred Guilder Print, and a compelling selection from Goya’s celebrated portfolios.

HIGHLIGHTS:

OLD MASTER & 19TH CENTURY PAINTINGS EVENING AUCTION

Hans Eworth, Portrait of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (1538-1578) Estimate: £2-3m

Coming to auction for the very first time, Hans Eworth’s Portrait of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (1538–1572) is one of the most significant Tudor portraits remaining in private hands. Painted in 1562 by Eworth - the leading English painter after Hans Holbein - it depicts Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, one of the most powerful noblemen at the court of Elizabeth I. As the only Duke in the realm and hereditary Earl Marshal, Norfolk oversaw all royal ceremonies and heraldic affairs. A second cousin to the Queen and heir to one of England’s greatest dynasties, he was the son of Henry Howard, the ‘Poet Earl of Surrey’, and the grandson of the formidable 3rd Duke of Norfolk. Yet even his towering status could not shield him from political peril: he fell from favour and was executed for treason in 1572 - just ten years after this portrait was painted - following a conspiracy to replace Elizabeth I with Mary, Queen of Scots.

The portrait forms part of a unique pendant pairing with that of Norfolk’s second wife, Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk (Audley End). Echoing the format of a diptych, together, the two works present a remarkably ambitious conception in English art of the period: two sitters united by a continuous tapestry background bearing their armorials.

Born in Antwerp and active in London from the 1540s, Hans Eworth emerged as England’s leading portraitist in the years following Holbein’s death. Particularly popular at the court of Mary I and among her supporters, his work demonstrates meticulous handling, subtle modelling, and a masterful treatment of costume and texture - revealing both his Netherlandish training and his consummate assimilation of Tudor courtly style.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Saint John on Patmos, half-length, his folded hands resting on the cover of a book, a palm tree behind him and his emblem of an eagle to the right, his head based on the features of Titus van Rijn Estimate: £5-7m

Recently rediscovered, St John on Patmos by Rembrandt depicts Saint John in exile on the Greek island of Patmos, seated with his hands resting on a book, a palm tree behind him, and the saint’s emblem, the eagle, at his side. Unseen by the public for more than a century, the painting was last exhibited at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague in 1923 and subsequently disappeared from public view, known only through a black-and-white photograph until its re- emergence in 2024. By 1926 the work was in the collection of German industrialist Friedrich “Fritz” Thyssen and descended in his family until recently. Its rediscovery marks the first time the work has been publicly seen in over 100 years.

The composition draws on the features of Rembrandt’s son Titus, transforming the work into a portrait historié - a portrait in which a real person is depicted as a historical, mythological, or biblical figure. Technical analysis and careful cleaning have revealed the confident wet-in-wet brushwork, the evolution of the composition, and the vibrant immediacy of Rembrandt’s late style, capturing both the spiritual presence of the saint and the artist’s inventive hand.

First recorded in a 1760 sale in The Hague, it later passed through the celebrated Leipzig collection of Gottfried Winckler, was misattributed in early twentieth-century New York sales – its full history and authorship having only recently be revaluated.

Pieter Brueghel the Younger, The Census at Bethlehem, Circa 1604 Estimate: £3-5m

Census at Bethlehem by Pieter Brueghel the Younger has lain out of public view for nearly than forty years, and no example of this subject has appeared at auction since 1980. At nearly 170 by 120 centimetres, it is one of the largest known depictions of this well-known subject and one of only a few versions by Brueghel the Younger remaining in private hands – the majority of the known examples lie in museums.

The composition derives from The Census at Bethlehem painted in 1566 by the artist’s father, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels), one of the most revered works of the Northern Renaissance. Although Brueghel the Younger was only a child at his father’s death, he devoted much of his career to preserving and reinterpreting these masterful inventions, infusing them with his own vivid palette, meticulous detail, and acute observation of daily life.

In this version, Brueghel the Younger enlivens the biblical scene within a bustling Flemish winter landscape: villagers queue to register for the census, children skate, throw snowballs, and drag sledges across the frozen ground, while drinkers gather around a makeshift tavern carved into an oak tree. At the centre of the activity, the Holy Family passes quietly through the crowd - an understated yet profoundly moving nod to the Nativity. In its seamless blending of the sacred and the everyday, the painting exemplifies Brueghel the Younger’s enduring ability to capture the divine within the rhythms of ordinary life.

The Master of the Sherborne Almshouse Triptych, A triptych with the five miracles of Christ Estimate: £2.5-3.5m

Recent scientific and academic research has revealed the remarkable significance of this intriguing altarpiece, shedding new light on its history. The early Flemish masterpiece spent much of its life hidden in an almshouse in Sherborne. Following these new discoveries, proceeds from its sale will go toward the almshouse’s core mission: providing care and support to those in need.

Although the source of the original commission and the identity of the painter remain uncertain, recent scientific investigations and scholarly research have established that the perfectly preserved altarpiece was painted in Brussels around 1480-90. In remarkable condition and executed in vibrantly coloured oil, the triptych depicts – in captivating detail – the Five Miracles of Christ, at the centre of which is the raising of Lazarus.

Willem van de Velde the Elder, Dutch shipping under way in a moderate breeze from the anchorage off Vlieland Estimate: £1.2 - 1.8m

Depicting the coastal bustle of a convoy of ships off the north-east coast of the Netherlands, this rare and highly detailed penschilderij (pen- painting) by Willem van de Velde the Elder exemplifies a uniquely Dutch genre that flourished in the late seventeenth century.

Although he did not invent the technique, Van de Velde perfected and popularised it, and it is for this that he is celebrated today. Extremely labour-intensive, the method allowed for an extraordinary level of precision and nuance, capturing both the ships themselves and the vibrant maritime activity around them with remarkable clarity. In works such as this, Van de Velde elevated maritime draughtsmanship to the status of high art, and early patrons included Leopold de’ Medici, who acquired six examples via his Amsterdam agent Pieter Blaeu.

This work is one of just five penschilderijen by Van de Velde to appear on the market this century. Fewer than 100 are known to survive, the overwhelming majority are today housed in major public collections such as the Rijksmuseum, and the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne adored by Saints of the House of Habsburg Estimate: £2-3M

Long thought to exist but never before identified, Peter Paul Rubens’ The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne adored by Saints of the House of Habsburg is a major rediscovery from the artist’s mature Antwerp period. Until now, the composition was known only through a workshop copy in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, long thought to be a model for an engraving.

The composition brings together a remarkable assembly of saints connected to the House of Habsburg: King Stephen of Hungary kneels at the left, Saint Casimir of Poland and Lithuania on the right.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Portrait study of an old man Estimate: £1 - 1.5m

Portrait Study of an Old Man presents a compelling, close-held study of age and presence, the sitter’s penetrating gaze revealing Rubens’ unparalleled gift for capturing both character and psychological depth.

For generations, the portrait was traditionally believed to represent Thomas “Old Tom” Parr (1482–1635), the Englishman once - though erroneously - reputed to have lived to the age of 152. The legend lent the painting a near-mythic aura: Parr’s supposed feats of longevity, his late-life remarriage at 122, fathering a child past 100, and his summons to London by Charles I, were long thought to resonate in the sitter’s weathered features.

Recent scholarship has decisively separated the painting from this persistent folklore. Rather than a likeness of Parr, the work is now dated securely to Rubens’ Antwerp period of around 1615–19 - several decades before Parr’s death - restoring it as an autonomous, meditation on age, painted solely by Rubens himself.

The portrait’s importance within Rubens’ studio is underscored by a contemporary copy by his pupil Anthony van Dyck, now housed in the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.

Frans Hals, Portrait of Verdonck brandishing a jawbone Estimate: £800,000 - 1.2m

Newly brought to light, and previously known only through a black- and-white photograph, this spirited Portrait of Pieter Verdonck, brandishing a jawbone, sheds fresh light on Frans Hals’ stylistic evolution during the 1620s. Verdonck, a notorious troublemaker in Haarlem, is immortalised with a twinkle in his eye and a touch of irony: the biblical jawbone of an ass is replaced by that of a cow.

The sitter’s mischievous energy connects Hals’ portraiture to his tronie-like studies of comic and theatrical characters such as Peeckelhaering - the jester named after pickled herring - and Malle Babbe, the so-called witch confined to Haarlem’s house of correction in 1653. Such exuberant figures were known as Gek - the Dutch word for “mad” or “foolish,” but with a tinge of admiration - a term that, intriguingly, would evolve into our modern word “geek.”

Albrecht Dürer, Adam and Eve Estimate £250,000 - 450,000

An early impression of the exceptionally rare second state (of three), before the reworking of the tree, this print has never before appeared at auction, and compares favourably with the celebrated Malcolm impression at the British Museum.

This work encapsulates one of the most exceptional moments in Renaissance printmaking. In Adam and Eve, Dürer achieved a synthesis of technical brilliance, classical proportion and naturalistic observation that is unmatched elsewhere in his printed oeuvre. The work was the culmination of a four-year project, documented with unprecedented thoroughness in a sequence of studies and proportional analyses.

Its origins can be traced to the transformative arrival of Jacopo de’ Barbari in Nuremberg in 1500, whose introduction of the Vitruvian canon ignited Dürer’s lifelong pursuit of the ideal human form. Adam and Eve - humanity’s first and most perfectly proportioned figures - provided the ultimate testing ground for this ambition, resulting in one of the defining achievements of his career.

Alexandre-François Desportes, Still life with a dog and a cat in a garden landscape with game, flowers, a bunch of asparagus, a wicker basket of peaches and a blue and white porcelain bowl of wild strawberries Estimate: £200,000 - 300,000

Unseen and, until recently, untraced since its last recorded appearance on the Paris art market almost 250 years ago, this magnificent and exquisitely observed composition epitomises Alexandre-François Desportes’ mastery of both still life and animal painting - genres in which he achieved unrivalled success at the royal courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV in the early eighteenth century.

Executed during the artist’s mature period, between 1720 and 1730, the painting possesses an exceptional early provenance. First recorded in 1757 in the celebrated collection of Ange-Laurent de La Live de Jully (1725–1779), one of the great connoisseurs of mid- eighteenth-century Paris, it was later owned by Marie Anne Catherine Bigot de Graveron, Présidente de Bandeville (1709–1787) - among the most discerning female collectors of her time. Its distinguished ownership history confirms its standing as one of Desportes’s most ambitious and admired compositions.

A WORLDWIDE GRAND TOUR: THE SVEN A. BEHRENDT COLLECTION

Hans Bol, Panoramic landscape with a tower and a river in the foreground and a view of Antwerp and the River Schelde in the distance Estimate: £600,000 - 800,000

Hans Bol is celebrated today for his miniature paintings and finely detailed mythological drawings, yet in his own time his reputation rested on works painted in watercolour or tempera on linen - a highly unusual technique, almost unique to his native Mechelen. Because of their fragile nature, only a very small number have survived. This exceptionally well- preserved example, in near-pristine condition, may be one of the last paintings Bol executed in this medium.

The painting presents a sweeping panorama of Antwerp across the River Schelde, its fortified skyline rising above meadows and farmland. In the foreground, peasants gather outside a rustic inn, while an elegant company embarks on boats opposite, the river forming a gentle divide between the rustic and the refined. At the lower right, a drunken peasant brandishing a sword gestures toward Bol’s signature and date, a playful self-reference that reveals the artist’s wit and humanity. Painted a year after his admission to Antwerp’s painters’ guild, the work celebrates his adopted city while reflecting resilience following his flight from war-torn Mechelen.