H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan and Zaki Nusseibeh, Cultural Adviser to the UAE President, have unveiled Sandro Botticelli’s masterpiece ‘The Man of Sorrows’ at Sotheby’s Dubai, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

The extremely rare Renaissance painting is on view to the public at the DIFC today and on Tuesday, 14th December (10:00-19:00), before it travels back to New York, where it will be auctioned in January 2022 with an estimate in excess of US$40 million.

Nusseibeh said, “The unveiling at Sotheby’s Dubai in DIFC of a rare artwork by renowned Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli, ‘The Man of Sorrows’, one of the last works by the Italian artist to remain in private hands, worth an estimated US$40 million, before it is being moved to New York for the Sotheby’s annual Masters’ Week sales series in January 2022, is a truly momentous event in the art world.

“This will be the second Botticelli brought to world attention at Sotheby’s Dubai, DIFC, since his ‘Young Man Holding a Roundel’ achieved a record-breaking sale of US$92.2m at Sotheby’s Masters’ New York sales in January 2021.”