A Venus by Lucas Cranach the Younger from the Former Demidoff Collection

The auctioneer Charles Pillet and the expert Ferdinand Laneuville auctioned off "one of the most famous galleries in Europe" at the Hôtel Drouot in 1863­—the name of the owner was an open secret. Lord Herford spent 110,550 francs and the Duke of Galleria 36,910, but they were not the only ones. The Duke of Aumale, still in exile, bought La Maladie d'Antiochus ( The Illness of Antiochus ) by Ingres for 92,000 francs (Chantilly, Musée Condé). Some works came from Nicolas Demidoff 's collections, but most of the lots were acquired by his son Anatole. Although his amorous antics and his very bad behavior towards his wife, Mathilde Bonaparte, have passed into posterity, Anatole was also an exceptional patron of the arts—who sponsored the Voyage dans la Russie méridionale et la Crimée (Journey to…