A Drawing by Hans Baldung Grien classified as a French National Treasure
BEAUSSANT LEFÈVRE & Associés, in collaboration with the Cabinet de BAYSER, have decided to postpone the public auction scheduled for 23 March 2026 at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris of a drawing by Hans Baldung Grien, Portrait of Susanna Pfeffinger, executed in silverpoint in 1517, following its classification as a National Treasure and the temporary export ban from French territory (decree dated 20 March 2026 by the French Minister of Culture).
By decree dated 20 March 2026, the French Minister of Culture confirms the opinion of the Advisory Commission for National Treasures, which considers the Portrait of Susanna Pfeffinger, executed in silverpoint by Hans Baldung Grien in 1517, to be a National Treasure, in view of its major significance for the national heritage from both a historical and artistic standpoint.
The Advisory Commission for National Treasures convened on Wednesday, 18 March 2026. Its opinion, together with the French Minister of Culture’s decree, was published in the Journal officiel de la République française on the same day, Saturday, 21 March 2026 (JORF no. 0069, 21 March 2026).
The exceptional importance of this drawing is expressly recognised in both the opinion and the decree, which state that its acquisition by the State would enrich French public collections, which currently lack such a work.
The late classification of this drawing as a National Treasure, occurring only 48 hours before the public auction scheduled for Monday, 23 March 2026, despite the Ministry of Culture confirming that the application for an export certificate was submitted on 25 November 2025 (ref. 12503768), compromises the possibility of conducting the sale under normal conditions, notwithstanding the strong interest expressed by several institutions and international collectors.
Main Image: Hans Baldung Grien, Portrait of Susanna Pfeffinger (1517; silver point on paper, 157 x 104 mm)