Salvator Mundi

Film

There Are Now Not One But Two Documentaries About the Salvator Mundi Saga

Both The Lost Leonardo and Savior for Sale dig into how museums and galleries are not merely complicit with the unregulated art-industrial complex, but are necessary to it.

News

Sections of Salvator Mundi Not Part of Leonardo’s Original Design, Research Suggests

Two recent investigations of “Salvator Mundi,” including one conducted by the Louvre, now offer new avenues for skepticism.

News

Copy of Salvator Mundi Discovered In Naples Apartment

The 500-year-old painting, likely the work of a student of Leonardo, was found in a bedroom cupboard in the southern Italian city.

Interview

Salvator Mundi’s Mysterious Journey to the Gulf [UPDATED]

The painting’s voyage, from the record-breaking Christie’s auction to the mysterious postponing of its unveiling, reflects deep regional ideological and geopolitical rifts — but the debate has hardly played out in the Arabic-language media.

Opinion

Has the Salvator Mundi Really Gone Missing? Unpacking the Latest Conspiracy Theory

Keeping track of the world's most expensive painting has become more difficult since it transferred into Saudi hands. One conspiracist claims the painting is involved in a money laundering plot tie Trump-Russia scandal.

Test 2018 posts

The Auctioning of an 11th-Century Chinese Scroll Points to the Complex Tradition of Copying

As Su Shi's "Wood and Rock" goes to auction, we are reminded that the discussion of genuine and fake paintings is ever-present in Chinese art history.

Test 2018 posts

Leonardo Had Help: Oxford Art Historian Asserts New Attribution for 'Salvator Mundi'

Matthew Landrus believes the painting, which Louvre Abu Dhabi bought at auction for $450.3 million in 2017, better resembles the work of Bernardino Luini, an assistant in Da Vinci's studio.

News

An Artist-Run Salvator Mundi Shop Offers T-Shirts, Dog Sweaters, and More

Real Salvator Mundi has all the Leonardo merchandise you might want and much, much more.

News

Louvre Abu Dhabi Claims They Own Leonardo's "Salvator Mundi" [UPDATE 2]

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is now claiming it owns the world's most expensive artwork.

In Brief

New WSJ Report Claims Saudi Crown Prince Is Real Buyer of $450.3M Leonardo [UPDATED]

A day after the New York Times identified the buyer of "Salvator Mundi" as an obscure Saudi prince, the Wall Street Journal claims he was merely serving as a proxy for the country's crown prince.

In Brief

Saudi Prince Identified as Buyer of $450.3M Leonardo Painting "Salvator Mundi" [UPDATED]

Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, a friend of the Saudi crown prince, is paying for the painting in monthly installments of $58 million.

In Brief

Leonardo's "Salvator Mundi" Is Headed to the Louvre Abu Dhabi [UPDATED]

The newly opened institution announced on Twitter that the most expensive artwork ever sold will soon go on view there.