While some say money can’t buy taste, the truth is great fortunes have contributed to some of the most important works of art in history. What would art be without the wealth of rich Italian merchants during the Renaissance or the patronage that popes and kings have provided to artists over the centuries?
Leonardo da Vinci was one of the sponsored artists who developed his skills under the patronage of millionaires, kings, and popes throughout his life. After his death, his few surviving works continued to grace the opulent halls of the wealthy.
One of da Vinci’s paintings, Salvator Mundi, eventually became the most expensive painting ever auctioned. Ironically, experts later determined that the painting might not be an authentic work of the Italian artist.
Salvator Mundi Wasn’t Always Attributed to da Vinci
According to The Wall Street Journal, Salvator Mundi wasn’t originally credited to da Vinci. In 1958, the painting had been so heavily retouched and repainted that it resembled a poor imitation of the great Italian master’s style. It was originally sold for less than $200.
The painting’s whereabouts were unknown until 2005, when art dealers Alex Parish and Robert Simon purchased a property in New Orleans containing the painting for $10,000.
Simon initially believed the painting had potential but didn’t think it could be a genuine da Vinci. “It appeared to be a damaged, but worthy Renaissance-era work,” he told CNBC in 2017, adding, “I thought it was beautiful but battered, and greatly overpainted.”
Simon and Parish hired Dianne Dwyer Modestini, a conservator from New York University, to restore the badly deteriorated painting and enhance its value. The restoration took several years, but what was revealed was astonishing. “Once the layer ancient paint were scraped down and the original work started to emerge, this magical feeling took hold. I knew this was the real deal,” Simon said.
By 2011, they had consulted the world’s leading authorities on the great masters of the Renaissance, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the National Gallery in London.
Experts compared the painting with 20 existing copies attributed to da Vinci’s workshop students. They concluded that this particular piece was better executed than the rest, confirming it as the work of the master himself. That same year, the National Gallery officially exhibited it as a verified work by da Vinci.
Details such as the position of the thumb, the use of sfumato on the face, and the technique applied to the hair convinced experts that only da Vinci could’ve painted this work.
In 2012, Salvator Mundi was auctioned at Christie’s New York as an original da Vinci. Art dealer Yves Bouvier purchased it for $80 million, but he then sold it to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev for an impressive $125.7 million.
Let the Show Begin: $450 Million for a da Vinci
Salvator Mundi is often referred to as “the male Mona Lisa” due to its striking resemblance to da Vinci’s most famous work. Experts believe he painted it in 1500 and say it was likely owned by three English kings.
Five centuries later, in 2017, Christie’s surprised the world by auctioning the painting off. Expectations were high, but the auction didn’t disappoint. In fact, Christie’s even streamed the event online and filled the room with eager spectators. An advertising agency commissioned a marketing campaign that also fueled the action.
Many expected the painting to sell for $100 million by the end of the auction. However, no one expected the bidding to rise by 10 million, ultimately quadrupling the initial forecast.
In the end, a mysterious buyer won the bidding and paid $400 million over the phone for the artwork. An auction house premium was added to the final bill, bringing the total price for Salvator Mundi to more than $450.3 million.
This sale made Salvator Mundi the most expensive painting in the world. It far exceeded the previous record of $179.3 million that former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani paid for Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger in 2015.
According to The New York Times, Saudi Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud was initially thought to be the Salvator Mundi buyer. However, it was later revealed that Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, another Saudi Arabian prince, was the true owner of the painting. He’s better known for envisioning the ambitious NEOM project.
The Louvre Won’t Buy It
The work was to be exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris in 2019 alongside the Mona Lisa to commemorate the 500th anniversary of da Vinci’s death. However, the museum insisted on listing it as a work by Leonardo’s “workshop” and refused to display it next to the Mona Lisa, which is officially attributed to da Vinci.
The Louvre avoided directly attributing the work to the master after re-analyzing it using a unique accelerator technology, which allows for in-depth analysis of canvases.
This change in cataloging infuriated the Saudis, who then withdrew the painting from the Louvre. The dispute nearly escalated into a diplomatic incident. Since then, the Louvre has remained silent on the true authorship of Salvator Mundi and has never shown the painting in its galleries.
As a result, the authenticity of the painting was questioned again. It was suggested that da Vinci may have contributed to the work but wasn’t its sole author. This implied that the master had likely only made corrections to what would probably be considered one of his best students’ efforts.
In 2019, The Telegraph reported that the painting’s value was significantly diminished with this cataloging. Specifically, it dropped to around $1.5 million, a stark contrast to the $450 million that had been paid for it.
The Louvre evaluations even led some professionals to claim that Christie’s had manipulated the cataloging to inflate the painting’s value.
“I do not want to be listed among people that said ‘yes’ because I wasn’t really asked what I thought about the Salvator Mundi at the time. If my name is added to that list, it will be a tacit statement that I agree with the attribution to Leonardo. I do not,” Carmen Bambach, an art curator who studied the painting before the 2017 auction, told The Guardian.
She added that the work was primarily painted by Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, da Vinci’s assistant. “In my opinion, it was not a good investment,” she said.
The painting was finally shipped back to Saudi Arabia. Additionally, according to Artnet, Prince Mohammed bin Salman hung the painting on the walls of his superyacht, Serene. It hasn’t been publicly exhibited ever since.
Image | Wikimedia Commons | Christie’s
Related | There Was a Trick in the Bible’s Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes. Science Has Just Uncovered It
View 0 comments