Salvator mundi

Description

Salvator mundi

The Salvàtor mundi is an oil painting on wood attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, datable to around 1499 and kept in a private collection in Abu Dhabi. The painting was made known to the public only in 2011 on the occasion of an exhibition at the National Gallery in London where it was presented after a restoration that eliminated old repaintings. The attribution has so far been confirmed by four international scholars, with unanimous opinions, but has been contested by other scholars such as Carmen Bambach, Michael Daley, Jacques Franck, Charles Hope, Carlo Pedretti, Charles Robertson and Frank Zöllner. Its sale at Christie's in November 2017 at a cost of $ 450.3 million, including auction rights, made it the most expensive work of art in history purchased by a private individual. The buyer is the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism.