‘SalvatorMundiisafakedaVinci’

PARIS: A new French feature-length documentary on the Salvator Mundi, the costliest painting, seems to have solved one of the key mysteries surrounding the enigmatic and controversial painting: why it never appeared in the Musee du Louvre's blockbuster Leonardo da Vinci show.

Antoine Vitkine's film, which The Art Newspaper gained exclusive access to, was entitled The Savior for Sale and was released on April 13th. In the film, an anonymous senior official in French President Emmanuel Macron's government, codenamed "Jacques", tells Vitkine that the Louvre's extensive scientific examination of the painting, conducted in secret, concluded that Leonardo da Vinci himself "only contributed" to the picture and that its "authenticity" could not be confirmed, reported The Art Newspaper.

The painting's owner, the Crown

Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, had acquired the painting (through a proxy) for USD 450 million-the largest price ever paid for a work of art--at Christie's, New York in November 2017, reported The Art Newspaper.

Media reported MBS pressured bosses at the Louvre to lie about the authenticity of a supposed Leonardo da Vinci painting to save his face, a new documentary alleges. The documentary alleged members of the French govt, including Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, lobbied on behalf of Salman’s request. They were concerned about the impact on France’s strategic and economic ties with Saudi Arabia.