A long-lost painting by 17th-century Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens sold at auction in France on Sunday for almost three million euros -- well beyond its asking price.

The work, of Jesus Christ on the cross and painted in 1613, was unearthed by auctioneer Jean-Pierre Osenat in a Paris mansion last year.

Osenat, whose auction house sold the painting for 2.94 million euros ($3.41 million) against an expected 1-2 million euros, found the painting as he was preparing the property to be sold.

He told AFP earlier this year the picture was "a masterpiece" which was painted by Rubens when he was "at the height of his talent".

The auction house said in its promotional material that very little was known of the painting -- only that a peer of Rubens had made an engraving of it.

Later historia

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