The Korea Herald

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El Greco sets new record at London auction

By Korea Herald

Published : July 4, 2013 - 20:12

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LONDON (AFP) ― El Greco’s 400 year-old painting “Saint Dominic in Prayer” on Wednesday broke the record for a Spanish Old Master, selling at a London auction for 9.1 million pounds ($14,000,000).

The painting was one of two El Greco works on sale at the sale, said Alex Bell, worldwide head of Sotheby’s Old Master Paintings.

It went under the hammer following a “tenacious” battle between bidders, he added.

The painting represents the 13th-century founder of the Dominican order kneeling and praying besides a crucifix under a dark and swirling sky.

Executed in 15th-century Toledo, it also features the crucifix which El Greco often used in paintings showing saints in devotion.

The London auction attracted a record number of collectors from Asia and the Middle East and generated 35 million pounds in total sales.