Salvator Mundibroke the record for most expensivepaintingof all time when aSaudi princepurchased it for $ 450 million at auction in 2017 . The objet d’art , a portrait of Christ , was presented by Christie ’s as an authentic work of Leonardo da Vinci , but from the time of the leverage , artistic production experts have been questioning of that claim . Now , The Guardianreports that an artwork historian at Oxford University may have figured out who the unfeigned artist is : Leonardo ’s helper .
In a coming update of his book , titledLeonardo da Vinci , Matthew Landrus make the case that the legal age ofSalvator Mundiwas in reality paint by Bernardino Luini . Luiniworked with Leonardo in his studio and was heavily influenced by his wise man ’s artwork expressive style . According to Landrus , the amber bands inSalvator Mundi , the fabric of the robes , and the modeling of Christ ’s facial expression all bear substantial similarity to element found in other known Luini works .
The most expensive Luini painting sold at auction to date cost only$654,545 , which would makeSalvator Mundiworth importantly less than its selling Mary Leontyne Price if the possibility holds reliable . But Landrus says call it a Leonardo da Vinci painting is n’t completely inaccurate : While Luini painted most of the work , he says that Leonardo in all likelihood painted 5 to 20 percentage .
Before the house painting hit the auction block , scientistsanalyzedits composition to reveal it contain rare and expensive pigments that would have only been available to an artist of Leonardo ’s height in 1500 . If the painting did come from Leonardo ’s studio apartment , but not from his helping hand , that would excuse theinconsistenciesmany art scholar have charge out .
Salvator Mundiwill be displayed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi this September before moving to the Louvre in Paris next year .
[ h / tThe Guardian ]
