Disputed £345m ‘da Vinci is like a Saudi political prisoner and may never be displayed’
it is the world’s most expensive painting. But salvator Mundi may never go on public display due to doubts over whether it is a genuine Leonardo da Vinci, it has been claimed.
the work made headlines around the world when it sold for $450 million (£345 million) at Christie’s in new york in 2017. some da Vinci experts insist it is genuinely the lost work of the master, but others are dismissive.
now, the art historian Ben Lewis has claimed it is unlikely the work will be displayed publicly due to the damage it would cause to its price, likening it to the ‘latest saudi political prisoner’.
the buyer is understood to be the Crown Prince of saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin salman. it is rumoured he agreed that the work would become a star of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. it was also due to be lent to the Louvre in Paris for a show this year for the 500th anniversary of da Vinci’s death. But the display in Abu Dhabi was halted last year and now, Mr Lewis says, its loan to Paris is off.
He told the Hay festival: ‘What are the chances of it being shown? that is a $450million question. My inside sources at the Louvre tell me that not many curators think this picture is a Leonardo da Vinci.
‘if they did exhibit it... they would want to exhibit it as [the product of his] workshop which adds to the case that it is very unlikely it will be shown. the owner cannot possibly lend it ... the value will go down to somewhere north of £1.2million.’ Mr Lewis joked: ‘it’s almost like it’s become the latest saudi political prisoner. it dare not show its face.’
the small oil painting depicts Christ, his right hand raised in benediction, a crystal orb, representing Earth, resting in his left.
in 2005 it was restored and in 2008 authenticated by art experts. some 60 years before it was auctioned it had swapped hands for £45 from the collection of an English baronet.