Auction

"Auction (Le Tableau Volé) is the tenth film by French director and screenwriter Pascal Bonitzer, known for his collaborations with filmmakers such as Chantal Akerman (Night and Day), Jacques Rivette (Around a Small Mountain), and Raoul Peck (The Young Karl Marx). The story follows a prestigious auctioneer (Alex Lutz, Guy), who is initially skeptical when he receives a letter claiming that a lost painting by Egon Schiele has been discovered in the home of a young laborer. However, when it is confirmed that the artwork is authentic—a discovery that could boost his prestige and that of his auction house—it turns into a dispute with more serious ramifications. Inspired by true events, the film questions whether it is possible—and on what terms—to claim ownership of a work of art when the original artist is no longer alive, especially in cases like this, where the artwork was stolen (Schiele’s art was looted and labeled as “degenerate” by Hitler and the Nazis, with many pieces declared lost for years). The answers aren’t easy, and fortunately, The Lost Painting doesn’t shy away from that fact."