When the Venetian artist Titian (c.1488/90-1576) was only 20 years old, he painted the exquisite “Rest On The Flight Into Egypt”. Centuries later, after being stolen and then sensationally recovered at a bus-stop in 2002, the “little masterpiece” has set a new world auction record for the artist.

Christie’s London sold the painting for a whopping £17.6 million on behalf of Lord Bath, who recently inherited the Longleat estate in Wiltshire, which included the Titian. Ceawlin Thynn, 8th Marquess of Bath, said before the sale that “we have a considerable long-term investment strategy at Longleat and have decided to sell this asset to further this agenda at a time when the market for paintings of such unique rarity is so strong.”

Measuring 2ft wide, the wood panel painting was created around the time Titian worked in the Venetian workshop of Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516). The piece is indebted to his master’s sensitive style, as well the pastoral scenes of Giorgione (1473/1477-1510), who was another disciple of Bellini. Yet it is clearly a work by Titian, possessing his characteristic use of complementary tones.

Andrew Fletcher, Christie’s Global Head of the Old Masters Department, said it was the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market “in more than a generation“, adding that the picture was “a truly outstanding example of the artist’s pioneering approach to both the use of colour and the representation of the human form in the natural world“.

Titian’s painting not only stands out for its quality, but for its intriguing history too. In 1995, as the 7th Marquess of Bath (1932-2020) happily took his dinner, a heist occurred in his home. Professional thieves climbed through a window into the State Drawing Room at Longleat House and stole the prized Titian and two less important works. The Titian was recovered seven years later by former Scotland Yard detective Charley Hill (1947-2021) after a £100,000 reward was offered for information. Hill discovered the piece in a plastic bag outside a bus-stop in southwest London.

The painting also has had many acclaimed owners, including the Venetian spice merchant and art dealer Bartolomeo della Nave (d.1636), the Habsburg Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (1614-1662), and the Austrian Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790). In 1809, it was looted by Napolean Bonaparte’s (1769-1821) troops but Titian’s painting was somehow separated from the rest that headed to Paris. The painting entered the collection of the fourth Marquess of Bath (1831-1896) in 1878 where it remained until the present day, albeit its brief missing stint after the 90’s heist.

“It’s exceptional to have this unbroken, documented provenance, all these incredible collections,” marvelled Letizia Treves, the Global Head of research and expertise at Christie’s.

Titian’s painting was purchased by an anonymous telephone bidder on 2nd July for £15 million (£17.6 million with fees), falling within its £15-£25 million estimate.