• Frieze Fair: A Botticelli painting declared "good of cultural interest" leaves Spain to be sold
  • Legislation: what will happen to the protected botticelli when you leave Spain

This afternoon closes Frieze, installed on the grass of Regent's Park in central London. The carpet is already frayed and the exhibitors begin to work. Among them, Carlo Orsi, dealer and owner of Trinity Fine Art, the gallery that sells Portrait of Michele Marullo , of Botticelli, the painting declared BIC (Property of Cultural Interest) in Spain and therefore has restrictions to leave the country. The director of the gallery, Valentina Rossi, pizpireta, helps her boss in the sale of the work for which they aspire to exceed 27 million euros .

The history of the painting is known, and here Carlo and Valentina have been here since Wednesday offering the canvas to the highest bidder from Helena Cambó, the 90-year-old owner, and daughter of the politician Francesc Cambó. " There is a lot of interest in the painting ; this fair has been the best and biggest showcase for teaching the work," Carlo predicts, refusing to put an exact number of offers and, even more, amounts of money offered or names of interested parties.

Valentina intercedes without hesitation: "The botticelli is cheap because it has the restrictions of Spanish legislation to be protected; if not, it would be worth much more." He is the only botticelli in private hands outside Italy and one of the 10 or 12 portraits that the Italian artist, named Alessandro Filipepi, painted. Carlo Orsi has dedicated the entire stand at Frieze Masters to this unique piece. The poet Michele Marullo looks, as suspicious and sidelong, the parade of people passing through the gloom of the stand.

"Helena Cambó contacted me for the sale and now I'm going to present the offers I have for her to decide what to do, " explains Carlo Orsi, with a gallery in London and Milan, which keeps the information secret. Orsi's saddlebags for the trip that will meet with Helena are full of figures and conditions, not only for travel licenses for the painting, but also for the authorship of the work.

Botticelli painted his friend by heart. In the composition intervened outside hands that have not been fully identified or quantified. " The best buyer would be a collector linked to Spain who could have him there," predicts Orsi, as one who does not want the thing. And put to presage, the Banco de Santander or Telefónica could act as patron by acquiring and giving away the canvas to the Prado Museum. "It could also be, why not?" Continues the dealer.

In the gallery owner's opinion, "contacts can now take weeks or months, but I hope it will be sold before Christmas ." Orsi reveals to EL MUNDO that his commission is "below 10%". This amount favors Helena Cambó, since auction houses (such as Christie's or Sotheby's) charge the seller 25% of the first 10,000 pounds; 20% of between 10,000 and 250,000; and 12% from 250,000. In any case, Michele Marullo , Carlo Orsi and Helena Cambó are favored. The anonymous buyers are the same; those who go to the Mayfair neighborhood of London where Orsi has the gallery, neighbor of the big auction houses.

The portrait painted around 1500 takes almost a year in London offered to the highest bidder , with a license or permission to leave Spain that expires on October 15 . "That day will be in Spain. If we need to extend the export permit, we will request it once the work has returned," explains Carlo, who fears neither restrictions nor Brexit, and adds the following: "Italy has a protectionist legislation such as that of Spain, and so it should be, I am constantly dealing with European or American legislation. "

In the event that Brexit could favor or harm the sale of Michele Marullo's Portrait , the dealer is one of those who thinks there is nothing to fear. "London will maintain its position as the first art market in Europe, especially in works of high quality and high price," says the dealer aligning himself in the optimistic trend about Brexit.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • London
  • Telefonica
  • Art
  • culture

ArtThe 30 million Botticelli de los Cambó

Paloma Pedrero Theater premieres at the Cervantes Theater the bilingual version of The Eyes of the Night

CulturaLuis Bassat brings to the Cajasol Foundation part of its contemporary art collection