A Renaissance landscape bought by a Swiss collector in 1957 vanished from public view for nearly 70 years; experts have identified it as a rare Altdorfer worth up to £5 million

A small Renaissance painting that remained in a private Swiss collection for nearly seven decades is set to make its way into the international art market, with an estimated value of up to £5 million. The work, attributed to German Renaissance artist Albrecht Altdorfer, is particularly significant because it could become the third known oil landscape by the artist, whose surviving works of this kind are exceptionally rare. According to The Guardian, The Art Newspaper and Sotheby’s, the painting dates to around 1520 and will be offered at Sotheby’s Old Masters Evening Sale in London on December 9, 2026. It carries an estimate of £3 million to £5 million and is being presented as a previously unknown work that has emerged from a Swiss private collection. Measuring just 23.4 by 19.8 centimetres, the painting depicts a densely wooded landscape, with a rainbow appearing behind the trees, a distant rocky outcrop and a sky filled with heavy clouds. Despite its modest dimensions, the artwork is considered an important addition to the known body of work of the Northern Renaissance artist.

A painting with an unusual place in art history

The work, titled A Thickly Wooded Landscape With a Rainbow Behind the Trees and a Distant Outcrop to the Right Beneath a Cloud-Laden Sky, is signed with Altdorfer’s monogram on the trunk of a tree. Sotheby’s catalogue describes it as an oil painting on parchment, which was later attached to a wooden panel.Its significance lies in the way it treats nature as the central subject rather than using a landscape merely as a background for human figures or a religious story. Altdorfer was among the early European artists to explore landscape painting as an independent genre, giving forests, weather and natural scenery a prominent place in his work.Until this painting came to light, only two comparable oil landscapes by the artist were widely recognised. One, Landscape With a Footbridge, is part of London’s National Gallery collection, while the other, Landscape of the Danube near Regensburg, is housed at Munich’s Alte Pinakothek. The newly identified painting would expand that small group to three.

From an Austrian aristocratic collection to Switzerland

The painting’s documented ownership history goes back to the collection of the House of Harrach, an Austrian aristocratic family that once kept it at the Palais Harrach in Vienna. It was purchased in 1957 by the father of the current owner and remained in the family after the acquisition. Its appearance at Sotheby’s marks its return to public attention after decades away from museum displays and the international art market.The discovery is also significant because Altdorfer paintings rarely become available to collectors. The last time a work by the artist entered the market was in 1980, when the National Gallery acquired Christ Taking Leave of His Mother, another painting dating to around 1520, for a reported £2.45 million. The acquisition was considered one of the most expensive art purchases of its time.

Who was Albrecht Altdorfer?

Born in Regensburg, in present-day Bavaria, Albrecht Altdorfer became one of the leading figures of the German Renaissance. He initially established himself through drawings and engravings before developing an interest in painting natural scenery in the early 16th century.His landscapes drew inspiration from the forests and river valleys around the Danube. He also received important royal commissions, including The Battle of Alexander at Issus, completed in 1529 for Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria. The monumental painting is now held at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Altdorfer spent much of his career in Regensburg, where he also held public office, and died there in 1538. His approach to depicting nature helped establish landscape painting as an important artistic subject in its own right.

Where the painting will be displayed

Before the December auction, Sotheby’s is presenting the painting at its New York exhibition from November 7 to 19, followed by a London viewing from December 4 to 9. The auction house has placed an estimate of £3 million to £5 million on the work, although its eventual selling price remains uncertain. With no comparable Altdorfer painting having appeared on the market for decades, the sale is expected to attract interest from major collectors and museums.For the art world, however, the significance of the discovery extends beyond its potential auction price. A painting that spent almost 70 years outside public view could add a rare new chapter to the understanding of one of the Renaissance’s pioneering landscape artists.