'The Holy Family with St John the Baptist child', attributed to Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Francesco Penni, sold for €1.13m (£980,000) at a Paris auction.
Estimated at €5000-7000, The Holy Family with St John the Baptist child was fought over by bidders at Drouot Estimations on April 12 (24% buyer’s premium including VAT).
Penni was a pupil of Raphael and after his death collaborated with fellow Raphael pupil Giulio Romano (1499-1546) to finish commissions together.
However, the €1.13m price suggests the bidders may have believed at least part of the drawing could be in the hand of Raphael himself.
The drawing was previously in the collection of French archaeologist Jean Théophile Homolle (1848-1925).
According to family tradition, it was given to him by the artist Léon Bonnat when painting his portrait.
