Discovery of Exceptional 500-Year-Old Nativity Painting

A 500-year-old painting with a religious theme has been discovered in a private art collection in Guernsey.

According to “Aria Heritage,” a 500-year-old painting was created in the workshop of an artist named “Pieter Coecke van Aelst” and was identified in a private art collection located on the island of Guernsey. The painting is scheduled to be auctioned at “Martel Mayes” next month.

“Pieter Coecke van Aelst,” born in 1520 in Brussels, worked as a painter, sculptor, architect, designer, and translator. He managed a large art workshop and had several assistants, but it is unclear whether the Nativity painting was created by him, his assistants, or in collaboration with one another.

“Jonathan Woke,” a specialist in paintings at Martel Mayes auction house, described the discovery of the mentioned painting as exceptional and unique, stating: “No signed painting by this artist has survived, and very few documents about this artist’s paintings remain.”

The aforementioned religious painting, which depicts the birth of Jesus Christ, consists of three panels. The painting depicts a scene of the adoration of the Magi, who visit Jesus after his birth.

Jonathan Woke, while noting that the discovered painting bears great similarities to other paintings attributed to him, said: “This painting, given its distinctive features, is a unique work and is neither a copy nor a reconstruction.”

The estimated value of this work of art by experts is between 150 to 200 thousand pounds.