When Christie’s, one of the world’s most renowned auction houses, calls a piece “a painting of the most iconic figure in the world by the most important artist of all time,” it behoves us to sit up and take note. This is what they had to say for the Salvator Mundi, the most recently discovered Leonardo da Vinci painting, which had its authorship and authenticity verified in 2010. The first discovery of an original da Vinci since 1909, it is scheduled to go under the proverbial hammer at Christie’s, New York in November. It’s expected to fetch no less than $100m — a fair jump, it’s safe to say, from when it’s unverified and shabby self was auctioned for £45 in 1958.
Elusive for 50 years
The painting remained elusive for almost 50 years after that, till it surfaced in 2005 when it was acquired by a consortium of American businesspeople. Salvator Mundi, or Saviour of the World is a common depiction of Jesus Christ, with his right hand raised in benediction, and his left holding the globus cruciger , an orb with a cross affixed on it. Aficionados have labelled the discovery and auction as amongst the greatest moments in 21st century art, and with good reason.
Only an estimated 15 original da Vinci’s are known to remain, and each of them exists with an entire canon of work surrounding each — the origins, the purpose, the possible meaning, form, technique — and we could go on.
Salvator Mundi is characteristic of the Old Master, with exquisite detail, especially in the curls of Christ’s hair, and a mysterious air. The dark background only accentuates this sense of darkness and haunt.
Dmitry Rybolovlev, the painting’s current owner, has seen a high-profile, complex legal battle fought out over not just the ownership of the last privately owned da Vinci, but also over its very cost. Rybolovlev, a Russian oligarch, has accused the previous owners of Salvator Mundi of overcharging him for it and other paintings he has bought from them.
—Rumoured to date from around 1500
—Belonged to King Charles I (1600-1649) for a while
—da Vinci made marks above the left eye with the heel of his hand to ‘soften the flesh’
—Exquisite detailing in the hair and drapery
