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Salvator Mundi: Leonardo da Vinci’s $450 million artwork may not have been painted by him
The painting, that portrays a serene-looking Christ dressed in blue, holding an orb, was one of only 10 in art history to be sold at an auction at Christie’s. It was predicted to sell for about $120m.
Salvator Mundi or Saviour of the World was unveiled to the public for the first time in 2011 in the exhibition, Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan at The National Gallery in London. Painted by one of history’s most renowned artists, Leonardo Da Vinci, whose works are now exceedingly rare — fewer than 20 paintings are known to have been created by the artist himself - Salvator Mundi was the first painting by Leonardo da Vinci since 1909, when the Benois Madonna, came to light.
The painting, that portrays a serene-looking Christ dressed in blue, holding an orb, was one of only 10 in art history to be sold at an auction at Christie’s. It was predicted to sell for about $120m. Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger broke the record in 2015 when it was sold for $179.4m in 2015.
Loic Gouzer, Chairman, Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie’s in New York, ahead of the 2017 auction said, “Despite being created approximately 500 years ago, the work of Leonardo is just as influential to the art that is being created today as it was in the 15th and 16th centuries. We felt that offering this painting within the context of our Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale is a testament to the enduring relevance of this picture.”
However, since its sale for a record $450 million, the famed painting’s whereabouts have been one of the greatest mysteries of the art world.
London-based art dealer Kenny Schachter offered answers to this mystery while writing for the website Artnews. He shared that the painting now resides on the $810m superyacht owned by powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The painting was supposed to be hung in Abu Dhabi’s Louvre Museum after its record-breaking sale. Following which rumours were afloat that the painting was being given a special gallery in Abu Dhabi. In a more recent twist in the tale, however, the painting is said to become the theme for a Broadway musical.
Did Da Vinci paint Salvator Mundi?
French art expert Jacques Franck, in an exhaustive essay in the reputable journal ArtWatch UK, has pointed out certain details in Salvator Mundi. He claims these were “inconsistent” when compared with other works by Da Vinci.
In Salvator Mundi, Franck points out that Jesus’ fingers seem “childlike”, something that doesn’t fit Da Vinci’s accurate mathematical precision.
Mr Franck also highlights Christ’s “oddly long and thin nose, the simplified mouth [and] the over shadowy neck”. But it was Christ’s fingers that lead the doubt.
Jacques Franck also believes that two of Da Vinci’s best pupils, artists Salai and Baltraffio, were the actual painters of the piece, as reported by 9newscom.au.
The art expert adds that despite the “neat finish”, the wrongly raised fingers in the blessing hand was “a quite inconceivable depiction”.
“When the index and the middle finger are raised fully, one cannot bend the other fingers inside the palm extensively as observed in the Salvator Mundi’s blessing hand. It is therefore an unlikely movement.” he continued.
