Leonardo da Vinci - Salvator Mundi 1490-1519
Salvator Mundi 1490-1519
45x65cm oil on walnut
Sold for: USD 450.3 million
Auction house: Christie's, New York
Sale date: 15 November 2017
Seller: Dmitry Rybolovlev
Buyer: Prince, Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Salvator Mundi is a painting of Christ as Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) recently attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, who is known to have painted the subject. It was lost and later rediscovered, and restored and exhibited in 2011. The painting shows Christ, in Renaissance garb, giving a benediction with his raised right hand and crossed fingers while holding a crystal sphere in his left hand.
In France, Leonardo da Vinci painted the subject, Jesus Christ, for Louis XII of France between 1506 and 1513. The recently authenticated work was once owned by Charles I of England and recorded in his art collection in 1649 before being auctioned by the son of the Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1763. It next appeared in 1900, when it was purchased by a British collector, Francis Cook, 1st Viscount of Monserrate. The painting was damaged from previous restoration attempts, and its authorship unclear. Cook's descendants sold it at auction in 1958 for £45.