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Diving into the secrets of the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci!

gerard van weyenbergh

Is it really a lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci? Light on the most thrilling scandal in the history of art! In theaters from January 26, a fascinating documentary by Danish director Andreas Koefoed dissects the incredible story of the most expensive painting ever sold in the world: the Salvator Mundi , sold for 450 million dollars in 2017 after having miraculously emerged from the 'shadow.

art expert
The Lost Leonardo? ....

How an uncertain painting, bought for a pittance in an obscure American auction could it, in a few years, become the most expensive ever sold in the world? Director Andreas Koefoed takes us on a journey through the mysterious cogs of his stratospheric ascent… which began in 2005 in the United States. Alexander Parish, a hunter of "dormant works" (a scout for undervalued pieces, which turn out to be of a much better artist than indicated when they are sold) discovers, in a small auction house in New Orleans , an oil on wood 65 centimeters high, cataloged “after Leonardo da Vinci”. In the bust, from the front, an impassive Christ, dressed in a blue robe embroidered with gold, raises his right hand in a sign of blessing while holding in the other a translucent sphere, symbol of the Universe...


This well-known theme of "Salvator mundi" ("Savior of the world" in Latin) has given rise to countless similar paintings over the centuries. We know that Leonardo painted his own version of it, but this painting has been missing for centuries. Only about thirty copies made by students or disciples of the famous genius of the Renaissance remain. If the New Orleans painting were a workshop copy signed by a student, it would have immense value. But this would be less if it was only from the hand of a follower of his circle, and weak to almost zero in the case of a simple follower… No matter: at only 1175 dollars, the risk is good to take for Parish who, with Robert Simon, art dealer specializing in old masters, buys the work illico!

While examining it, the duo notice a significant overcoat of paint indicating that its upper half has been heavily restored, but that its lower part, untouched, dates well from around the year 1500. In order to see more clearly, they entrusted the work to Dianne Modestini, ex-assistant restorer of the paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and wife of Mario Modestini, considered one of the greatest restorers and connoisseurs of Italian painting. Once the retouching has been removed with a solvent, the painting is very damaged. But repentance on the position of Christ's thumb seems to point in the direction of an original... As she painstakingly restores the work, Dianne makes another startling discovery: for her, the upper left corner of Christ's mouth, of an inimitable vagueness, can only have been painted by the author of the Mona Lisa!

Syson exhibited the painting with great fanfare at the National Gallery, presenting it unambiguously as Leonardo's Salvator Mundi finally found!

With beating hearts, Parish and Simon conduct a provenance investigation and trace the trail back to 1900, when the painting was allegedly sold at auction in London, attributed to Bernardino Luini (1480–1532), a pupil of Leonardo. Then nothing. In the 17th century, the English inventories contain two mentions which could correspond to the lost painting, in the collections of Charles I and Charles II. But this Salvator, whose wooden panel has been trimmed and redone, does not bear a royal seal…

A reproduction of the restored painting is sent to Luke Syson, curator at the National Gallery. Won over by the work, which he considered to be very similar to two preparatory sanguines by Leonardo, the latter invited some of the master's greatest specialists to come and see it. On the whole, the experts are open to the idea of ​​the lost Leonardo, but none clearly and officially decide. Never mind: Syson exhibited the painting with great fanfare at the National Gallery, presenting it unambiguously as Leonardo's Salvator Mundi finally found! Provoking the frenzy of the media and the crowd that rushes to come and admire it...

Anomalies unworthy of Leonardo?

Asked by the director about his responsibility in the case, Syson no longer knows where to go. Because as soon as the painting was exhibited in London, several experts began to refute its authenticity. According to academic Frank Zöllner, its lower part is the work of a pupil of Leonardo, and its upper part, a masterpiece by the restorer! For the painter and art historian Jacques Franck, the impossible position of the raised fingers of Christ can in no way be the work of an expert in anatomy. Who, according to art critic Kenny Schachter, would never have chosen such a poor quality wood panel! Not addressed in the film, the glass orb also unleashes passions: for some, it does not refract light realistically – a shame for a master of optics;

Bouvier bought it for 83 million dollars from its owners via Sotheby's… and resold it the same evening for 127.5 million to his Russian friend.

Although much criticized, the "authentication" by the National Gallery gives wings to Parish and Simon, who team up with art dealer Warren Adelson to sell the painting. But the museums approached do not have sufficient funds, or are slowing down in the face of uncertainty. One day, the Swiss businessman Yves Bouvier, who works in the lucrative sector of the free ports of Geneva and Singapore (storage places protected from the tax authorities), asks to see the painting, which he shows to Dmitri Rybolovlev, a Russian billionaire for whom he used to serve as an intermediary by acquiring masterpieces for him in exchange for a commission. Rybolovlev is hypnotized by the work. Some time later, Bouvier bought it for 83 million dollars from its owners via Sotheby's… and resold it the same evening for 127.5 million to his Russian friend. Failing to tell him during the negotiations that he has already purchased the work, and suggesting that other buyers are still competing for it! In 2014, Rybolovlev learns the price Bouvier actually paid, and discovers that he overpaid for all the works he bought from him. Furious, he takes the Swiss to court, blacklists him and puts his entire collection up for sale at Christie's... which then orchestrates a gigantic advertising campaign for the Salvador Mundi .

On the day of the sale, in 2017, in front of a dumbfounded crowd, the painting was sold for 450 million dollars (including commission) by a mysterious buyer! His identity is soon revealed by a journalist: it would be Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Kidnapping of more than 300 political and economic leaders to extort money from them, imprisonment of opponents and women's rights activists, deadly strikes in Yemen, disappearance of a journalist... The nicknamed "MBS" is at the heart of many scandals. So much so that Saudi Arabia has never publicly acknowledged the purchase. Especially since the representation (and its acquisition at a high price) of a prophet, who is moreover a Christian, proves problematic in Muslim lands...

The painting was on the plan for the Louvre's major exhibition dedicated to Leonardo in 2019. But he ultimately did not include it, leaving room at the last minute for another Salvator. While the copies of the book produced by the institution about him went through the grinder... Could the museum have finally resisted, for ethical reasons or out of a game of power, the diplomatic imperatives linked to the major Franco-Saudi contracts? According to journalist and art historian Didier Rykner, MBS demanded that the Salvator Mundi be installed in the same room as the Mona Lisa, which the Louvre would have refused! Today, no one knows where the painting is, which has never stopped navigating between light and shadow...

seen in Beaux Arts - Josephine Binde


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