Who Bought a Cimabue?

Photo by Carole Blumenfeld

In a tweet, art historian Carole Blumenfeld (@CarolBlumenfeld) identified the buyer of the $26.8 million Cimabue as the Alana Collection. That's the collection of Chilean billionaires Alvaro Saieh Bendeck and Ana Guzmán, who recently sold the Getty a Bronzino and a pair of Italian Gothic sculptures.

The Guardian reports that a "foreign museum" was among the underbidders, raising the possibility that the Getty bid against Alana for the Cimabue.

In the Art Tribune, Didier Rykner says the painting does not yet an export license, and the Louvre may attempt to pre-empt the sale. A Louvre curator attended the sale.

Cimabue, The Mocking of Christ, late 13th century