"The unveiling at Sotheby's Dubai in DIFC of a rare artwork by renowned Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli, "The Man of Sorrows", one of the last works by the Italian artist to remain in private hands, worth an estimated $40 million, before it is being moved to New York for the Sotheby's annual Masters' Week sales series in January 2022, is a truly momentous event in the art world. 

This will be the second Botticelli brought to world attention at Sotheby's Dubai DIFC since his "Young Man Holding a Roundel" achieved a record-breaking sale of $92.2m at Sotheby's Masters' New York sales in January 2021.

Once again, the event reflects the unique position of the United Arab Emirates as a global platform for the fine arts in its fiftieth anniversary year. With the presence of its grand museums, its vibrant art scene, its focus as a collector's venue, and this year's Expo Dubai 2020 with its 194 national pavilions, Sotheby's makes the right choice in unveiling to the world its very best in art history in the UAE."

Sotheby’s has been continuing its commitment to showcase the best of the best of its worldwide offerings to the region for a number of years. In October 2018, Sotheby’s unveiled a rare oil sketch portrait by Rembrandt in Dubai, which was acquired on behalf of the Louvre Abu Dhabi as part of the permanent collection. This time last year, Sotheby’s travelled works by two titans of art history, Botticelli and Rembrandt, to Dubai for a one-day exhibition that saw over 300 visitors queuing in the DIFC – which once again enlivened the interest in Old Masters, translating through to the auction results in 2021. 

The number of Middle Eastern buyers and bidders in Sotheby’s Old Master paintings and drawings sales has seen a three-fold and five-fold increase respectively in the past five years. Looking at 2020 and 2021 year-to-date alone, the number of Middle Eastern participants in Sotheby’s Old Master sales has gone up 40% in a year.

Executed in the late 15th/early 16th century, The Man of Sorrows is one of the last great masterpieces remaining in private hands by renowned Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. A remarkably realistic portrayal of Christ symbolizing his suffering and death, the painting showcases Christ’s divinity with a stunning psychological depth and humanity that is the hallmark of Botticelli’s portraiture.

The work comes to auction following Sotheby’s record-breaking sale of Botticelli’s Young Man Holding a Roundel in January 2021, which was also exhibited at Sotheby’s Dubai. The painting sold for $92.2 million – making it one of the most valuable portraits of any era ever sold and one of the most valuable Old Master Paintings ever sold at auction. Despite the landmark sale earlier this year, works by Botticelli – from any period – remain exceedingly rare at auction. His late works in particular very seldom appear on the market, with only three other works from this period (post 1492) known to be in private hands.