Rare masterpiece by Titian expected to sell for £13m at auction

London, Dec 4 (ANI): A rare masterpiece by Titian, which is going on public display for the first time in 30 years, is expected to sell for more than 13 million pounds at an auction.

The painting, A Sacra Conversazione, had been painted around 1560 by the Old Master when he was in his seventies.

Currently on display in London, the painting, which shows Madonna and Child in conversation with Saint Luke and Catherine of Alexandria, will go on sale at Sotheby's in New York in January.

It has only appeared in public on a handful of occasions since it was painted almost 500 years ago, and it is now being sold by the charitable foundation of the late German art collector Heinz Kisters.

"It has very, very rarely been exhibited other than in a couple of collections in rather obscure venues," the Telegraph quoted Alex Bell, Co-Chairman of Old Master Paintings, Sotheby's Worldwide, as saying.

"It has hardly been seen since the 19th century and is not really known. This is a very unique opportunity for a private collector," Bell stated. (ANI)