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Poussin: The Agony in the Garden, oil on copper, 60.3 x 47 cm.
One of the latest great discoveries made by Charles Bailly.

Charles Bailly has been one of the major discoverers of lost old master paintings during the past 15 years. Thanks to his sharp eye, he found in an auction sale in Nancy, Eastern France, a Frans Post Brazilian view of 1638, which once belonged to king Louis 14th, that he sold back through Sotheby's in New York for an impressive sum of US $ 4,512,500 on January 30th 1997. Bailly had bought this long lost painting for a mere US $ 10,000 in an ordinary auction sale in Nancy, Eastern France. A bingo day for the dealer who had detected the royal inventory number at the back of the canvas.

The Poussin painting sold by Sotheby's had been detected by Bailly some 10 years ago in a small auction sale in Drouot. The auctioneer who had been checking off a succession had found it at the last minute in a wardrobe. This time, Bailly fought a hard battle with other dealers to snatch that painting for 2 million francs (US $ 350,800).

Last year, the famous Paris-dealer sold a Rubens painting showing the head of John the Baptist presented to Salome for 27 million francs
(US $ 4,736, 000). He had bought this painting in an auction sale outside Paris for 2 millions francs around 1987.

Bailly has an incredible flair when it comes to discover lost works. However, his usual methods are rather simple and there is no secret to his successes.

1) He has plenty of money at his disposal to acquire what he has detected.

2) He takes enormous risks in buying works which remain to be authenticated. His most daring operation was the purchase of a work, The Immaculate Conception, which he firmly believed to be by Velazquez taking the risk of paying over 20 million francs (US $ 3,500,000) at Drouot on June 22nd 1990. He then offered it for saleat a reserve price of US $ 10 million with Sotheby's on July 6th 1994 but the painting was unsold following a controversial campaign by some experts who claimed that this painting was in fact by another Spanish painter, probably Alonso Cano. Today, Charles Bailly is still determined to prove he was right and has told Artcult he would meet success in a very near future.

The Immaculate Conception, 142 x 98.2 cm, a work bought at Drouot by Bailly who firmly believed that it was a early painting by Velazquez. Some well known experts challenged his opinion and the oil on canvas found no buyer at Sotheby's four years later

3) He has a library of about 20,000 art books and at least half a dozen researchers working for him. This means that knowledge combined with an intelligent method of sifting through loads of documents can lead to success.

6) Bailly has also established close links with Sotheby's. For example, he is known to buy most good 19th Century paintings at Drouot, which he sells back in New York and London with much profit. In a Sotheby's catalogue of about 200 works, an estimated 100 come from Bailly.

7) Bailly has opened one of the largest galleries, designed by the avant-garde architect Jean Nouvel, situated on Quai Voltaire in Paris. He has been constantly organising exhibitions in this much convenient place.

8) Charles Bailly works closely with his brother André and such pair has proved to be formidable on the Paris art market.

9) He has taken advantage of the blooming market for old master paintings to strengthen his activities.

10) Thanks to his knowledge and his experience, he no longer needs experts to acquire works, which he thinks are authentic.

Several record prices were registered during the last week of January 1999 by Sotheby's and even by Christie's, which sold a portrait of Santa Ruffina by Velazquez for US $ 8,07 million causing Spanish museums to lament over their inability to acquire such an important work.

Meanwhile a set of 38 drawings acquired for an investment fund by a group of French experts fetched 23 million francs (US $ 4,91 million), a record total for any auction sale organised in the U.S regarding old master drawings.However, the sale was not a success for the vendors who lost a great deal of money in comparison with what they paid some 10 years ago.

The Getty Museum notably paid 10 million francs (US $ 1,754 million) a drawing of Frederico Zuccaro, The Life of Taddeo Zuccaro, while a work by Frederico Barocci showing the Madonna del Popolo, went for 15 million francs (US $ 2,631 million) whereas several other drawings were sold well under their estimates.

At Sotheby's, the star of the show was Pousssin (1594-1665) of course with The Agony in the Garden sold by Charles Bailly and which the Louvre Museum dearly wanted to acquire.

Strangely enough, many lost works by Poussin have been rediscovered lately. Calm weather, a work that had been sold in London as by Dughet, who worked closely with Poussin, has reportedly been sold back to the Getty Museum for 120 million francs (US $ 21,05 million).

Another work by Poussin, The taking of Jerusalem, now exhibited in Rome, was sold by Sotheby's in 1995 for less than US $ 150,000 as a work by Pietro Testa wrongly titled as the pillaging of Carthage. Bought by Hazlitt from London, it was sold back to a group of patrons led by the Rothschilds who offered it to the Jerusalem Museum.

Three years ago, another painting by Poussin showing the Rest into Egypt with an elephant was found in a Dutch collection and sold back for some US $ 8,5 million to an American collector.

Two Paris dealers, the Pardo brothers, some 15 years ago in a sale outside Paris found another version of the Rest into Egypt. However, this painting has not yet been fully authenticated.
The last Poussin discovery showing the Plague in Rome, painted around 1656 for Cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi, was discovered by Paris expert Eric Turquin in the collection of a family in Southern France. The ancestor of that family, Alexis Le Go, a friend of Ingres who had been the secretary of the Medicis Villa in Rome, had brought back the painting in France in 1870.

Dirty but in excellent condition, it has been acquired by the Louvre Museum for US $ 7,89 million recently.

Museum officials said they were elated with this purchase and said they had now 38 paintings by Poussin in the Louvre. It shows a scene of the great plague in Rome during which Poussin's sister-in-law and niece died. After cleaning, museum officials are sure that the painting will be as it was originally with its magnificent blue and rose colours.

The Louvre Museum had previously no work dating back to the 1655-1660 period of the artist. They added that thanks to many research works carried out in recent years several lost works by Poussin might soon be discovered as this has been the case with half a dozen paintings by Caravaggio which have been found recently.

CHARLES BAILLY'S HIT

Frans Post (Dutch) (1612-1680) a Brazilian landscape, 1638, which had once been in the collection of king Louis 14th. Bailly had bought it for about $ 10,000 in an auction held in Nancy, Eastern France, and sold it back for a record US $ 4,512,500 at Sotheby's New York on January 30th 1997. January seems to be quite a lucky month for the Paris dealer.