Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi sells for $450m
Salvator Mundi is a painting of Christ as Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World), by some scholars attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, who is claimed to have painted the subject, but rejected by others.[1] It was lost and later rediscovered, and restored and exhibited in 2011. The painting shows Christ, in Renaissance dress, giving a benediction with his raised right hand and crossed fingers while holding a crystal sphere in his left hand.[2] The painting was sold at auction on November 15, 2017, for US$450 million dollars, making it the most expensive painting ever to be sold.[3]
The last Da Vinci in private hands sold for $450m on Wednesday after a fevered, 90-minute long round of bidding at Christie's in Manhattan. It is believed to be the most expensive piece of art ever sold. Salvator Mundi — Latin for Saviour of the World
Salvator Mundi, the long-lost leonardo Da Vinci painting of Jesus Christ commissioned by King Louis XII of France more than 500 years ago, has sold at Christie’s in New York for $450.3m, including auction house premium, shattering the world record for any work of art sold at auction.
Any private collector who gets suckered into buying this picture and places it in their apartment or storage, it serves them right," Jenny Saltz wrote on Vulture.com.
But Christie's insist the painting is authentic and billed it as "the greatest artistic rediscovery of the 20th century".
When in 2005 the Salvator Mundi re-emerged from obscurity, it created huge public interest as a "lost Leonardo".
Four years ago it was bought by a Russian collector for $127.5m (£98m) - but that was a private sale, not at auction.
Christie's in New York placed a starting bid of $100m at its auction of post-war and contemporary art.
The last Da Vinci in private hands sold for $450m on Wednesday after a fevered, 90-minute long round of bidding at Christie's in Manhattan. It is believed to be the most expensive piece of art ever sold. Salvator Mundi — Latin for Saviour of the World
Salvator Mundi, the long-lost leonardo Da Vinci painting of Jesus Christ commissioned by King Louis XII of France more than 500 years ago, has sold at Christie’s in New York for $450.3m, including auction house premium, shattering the world record for any work of art sold at auction.
Any private collector who gets suckered into buying this picture and places it in their apartment or storage, it serves them right," Jenny Saltz wrote on Vulture.com.
But Christie's insist the painting is authentic and billed it as "the greatest artistic rediscovery of the 20th century".
When in 2005 the Salvator Mundi re-emerged from obscurity, it created huge public interest as a "lost Leonardo".
Four years ago it was bought by a Russian collector for $127.5m (£98m) - but that was a private sale, not at auction.
Christie's in New York placed a starting bid of $100m at its auction of post-war and contemporary art.
Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi sells for $450m
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