Sissi portrait and Boldini's Donna Franca Florio set auction records

Two iconic aristocratic portraits achieved record prices at auctions in Vienna and Rome in late April 2017. At Dorotheum in Vienna on April 29, an equestrian portrait of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Princess Sissi) by Carl Theodor von Piloty and Franz Adam sold for €1.54 million, far exceeding its estimate of €300,000–350,000. The painting, commissioned in 1853 by Sissi's parents, was given as a Christmas gift to Emperor Franz Joseph and remained in Habsburg possession for over 150 years. At Bonino auction house in Rome on April 30, Giovanni Boldini's portrait of Donna Franca Florio (1901–1924) fetched €1.133 million, surpassing its estimate of €500,000–800,000. The painting had been acquired in 2005 by a company that later went bankrupt, leading to its sale. Despite a protection order from the Soprintendenza di Palermo and calls from locals for institutional acquisition, no museum or public body had the funds to exercise pre-emption rights. The buyer remains anonymous. The Boldini portrait was on view at a retrospective at the Vittoriano in Rome until May 16.