British authorities have lifted the export ban on Raphael’s “Head of a Young Apostle,” paving the way for New York billionaire Leon Black to take home the early 16th-century black chalk drawing, for which he paid a record-setting £29 million ($47.9 million) at Sotheby’s London last December. Raphael executed the study, dated to 1519-1520, in preparation for what many have hailed as his greatest painting, “The Transfiguration,” which is now in the Vatican collections.
Following the sale, British culture minister Ed Vaizey imposed an export restriction on the Old Master drawing, hoping that a buyer could be found within the U.K. so it could hold onto the national treasure. “The deferral period for Raphael's ‘Head of an Apostle’ was not extended on 3 July and accordingly a license to permanently export has been issued,” Sam Gough, a media relations officer for Arts Council England, which issues export licenses, told BLOUIN ARTINFO.
The “Head of a Young Apostle” is just one of several important works that Britain has recently sought retain. Export bans are currently in place for two works purchased by the J. Paul Getty Museum — a rare 15th-century Flemish manuscript titled “Roman de Gillion de Trazignes,” which the institution bought for £3.8 million ($5.8 million), and “Rembrandt Laughing,” a 1628 self-portrait by the Dutch master, for which the U.K. is seeking an estimated £16.5 million ($25 million) to keep it in the country.