Fragonard Triples Estimate at €38.7M Paris Sale

Christie's says the Graziella Patiño de Ortiz Linares Collection realized €38.7 million across 59 lots, with records for Fragonard, Watteau and Ingres.

Christie's reports that the Graziella Patiño de Ortiz Linares Collection achieved €38,736,120 across 59 lots at its Paris saleroom on 24 September 2026, a total the auction house describes as a landmark result that surpassed the sale's high estimate by a substantial margin. According to Christie's, 64% of lots sold above their high estimates, and the room was filled to capacity for a sale devoted to the Grand Goût and eighteenth-century French art. Cécile Verdier, President of Christie's France, adjudicated the bidding, and strong international interest produced, in the press release's words, intense bidding battles in the room, on the telephones and online.

The headlining result came from Jean-Honoré Fragonard's *L'Instant désiré*, which Christie's says more than tripled its high estimate to €10,600,000, becoming the second most valuable work by the artist ever sold at auction and setting a new French auction record for Fragonard. Antoine Watteau's *L'Île enchantée* fetched €10,370,000, likewise a new French record for the artist. According to Christie's, Ingres' *Portrait of Julius Caesar*, an Imperial commission from Napoleon III, sold for €2,362,000 and established a world auction record for the artist, while two Fra Bartolomeo drawings brought a French record with a double-sided Italian town study at €768,000. Hubert Robert's *La Nef de verdure* tripled its high estimate at €1,280,000.

Beyond the paintings, Christie's highlights a group of silver assembled by Grazi Patiño de Ortiz Linares, including four three-light candelabra from the service of the Kings of Portugal by Thomas Germain and François-Thomas Germain, which sold for €3,399,000, and a Louis XIV silver-gilt ewer and basin by Nicolas Delaunay at €768,000. According to Christie's, a pair of openwork black lacquer corner cabinets by Bernard II van Risamburgh, identified as supplied to Madame de Pompadour, sparked a memorable bidding battle before selling for €1,152,000, more than four times its estimate. The Musée national du Château de Versailles exercised its pre-emption right to acquire a pair of Royal Louis XV wall lights attributed to Jacques Caffiéri for €384,000.

Christie's specialists framed the cascade of records as evidence of the market's enduring appetite for exceptional works, with Vice-Chairman Pierre Etienne saying the results firmly establish the Patiño Ortiz name as a true hallmark of quality. Paul Gallois, Head of Furniture and Works of Art for Christie's Europe, said the results for the B.V.R.B. corner cabinets demonstrate exceptionally strong demand for rare, high-quality works with prestigious provenance, describing the past decade as a genuine renaissance for the decorative arts.