Last privately-owned Da Vinci painting could fetch up to $100 mn at New York auction

Dating from around 1500, the painting Salvator Mundi depicts Jesus Christ as the world’s saviour. Fewer than 20 works by Da Vinci have survived to this day.

The last Leonardo Da Vinci painting still in the hands of a private collector will go under the hammer next month in New York, the Christie’s auction house said on Tuesday, estimating its worth at $100 million.

Security personnel stand next to Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi after it was unveiled at Christie's in New York on October 10, 2017. (AFP)

Dating from around 1500, Salvator Mundi — which depicts Jesus Christ as the world’s saviour — was long believed to be a copy of an original by the Italian master, until it was eventually certified as authentic.

Fewer than 20 works by Da Vinci, whose art was already highly sought after during his lifetime, have survived to this day -- all of them held in museum or institutional collections, with the exception of Salvator Mundi.

As a general rule, very few pre-19th-century artworks remain in private ownership, and it is extremely rare for one of them to be offered at auction.

“For auction specialists, this is pretty much the Holy Grail, no pun intended, but it doesn’t really get better than that,” said Loic Gouzer, co-chairman of Christie’s Americas post-war and contemporary art department.

The work will travel to Hong Kong, San Francisco and London, before spending three days on display in New York leading up to the sale.

According to Poortere, Salvator Mundi -- which measures 45x65 cm -- was last sold to an unnamed European collector following a historic Da Vinci exhibition at London’s National Gallery in 2011-12.

Mining a common theme, next month’s auction will begin with the sale of the massive Sixty Last Suppers by pop artist Andy Warhol -- which depicts Da Vinci’s The Last Supper 60 times over, and is offered with a $50 million estimate.