A long-lost Rembrandt painting that vanished in the 1950s has reappeared in Amsterdam and, after recently being valued at $15,000 because it was a beautiful work of art, is now expected to sell for at least $18 MILLION.

The 1620s painting "disappeared" thanks to a mistake from a German scholar. This painting had always been known to be a Rembrandt and had appeared in museums throughout the centuries. But in the 1950s, a scholar cataloged it as one of the "Rembrandt circle" paintings (from students of the artist) and not a true Rembrandt.

When it popped back up in 2021, it went to auction, it was expected to sell for $10-15,000. But some people at the auction suspected it might have been the actual work of Rembrandt himself, which rocketed the cost up to $1 million when it sold.

Now, imaging has proved the painting is indeed authentic:

After extensive examination — including infrared and x-ray imaging — as well as inspection from leading Rembrandt scholars, Sotheby's has determined the work to be a real Rembrandt after all. The work will be included in the auction house's Old Masters and 19th century paintings evening sale in London on December 6, backed by a third-party guarantee.

Sotheby's said the work has been "entirely unseen" by scholars for nearly 75 years but that it is now already recognized as a "work of great significance" from early in Rembrandt's career.

Whoever bought that for $1 million is about to be a whole lot richer!

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