5 FACTS ABOUT SALVATOR MUNDI

1.

Salvator Mundi is one of fewer than 20 known surviving paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci, the Italian Renaissance master.

2.

Dating from around 1500, it is an oil painting on walnut panel and depicts Christ as Saviour of the World, facing the viewer, and dressed in flowing robes. He holds a crystal orb in his left hand as he raises his right hand in benediction.

3.

It is believed to have been created for the French royal family and later travelled to England where it was recorded in the collection of King Charles I.

4.

It disappeared from records and was presumed to have been destroyed. It was later rediscovered in 2007 but it was thought to be a copy of a lost original.

5.

It was later restored and in November 2017, it broke the world record for an artwork sold at auction when Louvre Abu Dhabi paid US$450.3m for it at Christie’s New York.