In mid-November 2017, at Christie’s auction in New York, the painting Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) was bought for 450 million US dollars in less than 20 minutes, setting a record for the price of a work of art ever sold. A painting that has caused something of a revolution in the world of the art market and is as mysterious and shrouded in mystery as the plot it depicts.
Savior of the world was created around 1500 and depicts a portrait of Jesus Christ in a blue Renaissance dress, holding a crystal ball in his left hand as a symbol of the earth, while giving a blessing with his right hand. The painting is 64.5 x 44.7 cm in size, executed in oil painting technique on a walnut wooden board. Its author is Leonardo da Vinci and this is his most controversial and discussed work of art. Currently, only about 20 of his works are known, which are really originals recognized by experts and proven by da Vinci as the author.
There is an important detail about Savior of the world – no one has yet been able to confidently publicly admit that the author of the painting is really Leonardo da Vinci alone. It is known to be one of the artist’s most frequently copied works, and around 30 copies and variations by Leonardo’s pupils and followers have been identified. Savior of the world painted during the zenith of the great master’s fame, so it was available to his disciples and there is a version that the artist himself started the work, passed it on to his assistants and only finished it later. It is also possible that da Vinci painted one side of the work and a disciple – the other.
Dealers in the art world dream of finding a lost work of art by a great artist, this type of work is also called a “sleeper”. These are works that are made by more or less well-known authors, but their ownership to the specific authors has not yet been proven or recognized. Until this is done, their value in the art market and among collectors is much lower, thus somewhat more advantageous for transactions.
New York art dealer and ex Savior of the world co-owner Alexander Parish together with American art historian Robert Simon found the Leonardo da Vinci painting at an auction in New Orleans. Having bought it in 2005 for only 1,175 US dollars, they brought the painting to New York, where it was first given to New York University professor and the best specialist in this field Dianne Dwyer Modestini for detailed restoration. In total, it lasted for 5 years. This was followed by examinations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, London’s National Gallery and a number of other US and European art museums.
Simons has rented the painting to museums several times, as none of them have been ready to buy the work. In the end, it was sold for 80 million US dollars to a Swiss art dealer and businessman Yves Bouvier, who in turn sold it to a businessman and billionaire in 2013 for 127.5 million US dollars. After the last deal, however, years of lawsuits followed, when the mentioned businessman realized that he had overpaid for several more artworks supplied by Bouvier. That’s how the painting ended up Christie’s owned by the auction house. It should be noted that The savior of the world auctioned together with works of contemporary art, thus trying to show it to the largest pool of potential buyers.
It was then that the painting was viewed and purchased by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Since then, the painting has mysteriously disappeared, has not been publicly exhibited and its whereabouts are unknown.
The Louvre Museum in Paris, while preparing a large and grandiose exhibition dedicated to the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death in 2019, promised the painting for exposure for the duration of the exhibition, but it has not been delivered either.
The price of a work of art is determined by several factors, not only the painting itself, but also the name of its author. In this case, the value was also increased by the restoration process lasting several years, although as a result some parts of the painting were completely recreated.
Many dispute the ownership of the painting by Leonardo, and there are a number of details that visually raise doubts and inconsistencies. A team of scientists has even developed a 3D model of this painting to test whether it is optically possible to create an image that reproduces the glass ball as it appears in the painting. Experiments show that it is an optically accurate reproduction, using the materials, light sources and knowledge available to da Vinci at the time.
Christie’s once named the painting as The last Leonardo and the “male Mona Lisa”, which in any case added fire to all the hype around this work of art and must have worked as a more or less deliberate marketing move.
Savior of the world considered lost for centuries, mysteriously found in New Orleans, revolutionized the art world, and then mysteriously disappeared again. Who knows where and when we’ll see it again. Those who have managed to see the painting during their lifetime admit that there is something very unusual and deeply irresistible in it, regardless of who is its author.
The 7 most expensive paintings in the world in 2023
“Mona Lisa” (1503) Leonardo da Vinci – $970 million “Salvator Mundi” (1490-1500) Leonardo da Vinci – $450.3 million, sold in 2017 “Interchange” (1955) Willem de Kooning – $300 million, sold in 2015. “The Card Players” (1894/5) Paul Cezanne – $250 million, sold in 2011. “Nafea Faa Ipoipo” (1892) Paul Gaugen – $210 million, sold in 2014. “Number 17A” (1948) Jackson Pollock – $200 million, sold in 2015 “Wasserschlangen II” (1907) Gustav Klimt – $183.8 million, sold in 2013.
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2023-12-11 10:17:26
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