Long-lost Leonardo da Vinci painting goes on sale Wednesday night -- for at least $100 million
Salvator Mundi
The Salvator Mundi is one of only 16 known remaining da Vincis, the most famous of which of course is the Mona Lisa which hangs at the Louvre in Paris
A long-lost Leonard da Vinci painting goes on Wednesday tonight -- for at least $100 million.
The small piece depicts Jesus holding up his right hand in a blessing, and holding a crystal orb in his left
The orb is mean to depict the world.
"Salvator Mundi" -- Latin for Saviour of the World -- will be auctioned by Christie's in New York.
The auction house is calling it the "last da Vinci".
It is one of only 16 known remaining da Vincis, the most famous of which of course is the Mona Lisa which hangs at the Louvre in Paris.
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Salvator Mundi was painted in the early 1500s.
It disappeared in 1763 for nearly a century and a half.
In 1900, it was purchased for the Cook Collection in London but by then the painting was no longer credited to da Vinci but to his follower Bernardino Luini.
In 1958, the collection was auctioned off, with “Salvator Mundi” going for 45 pounds, or about $125 today.
The painting was finally rediscovered in 2005.
People had painted over Salvator Mundi in the intervening years, probably trying to "modernise"it and to cover up the parts where the paint had chipped off.
When the toplayers were removed, it was found that the curly hair on Jesus's head looked just like what da Vinci had put on his painting of St John the Baptist, which also hangs at the Louvre.
And also that the angle of Jesus's right thumb had been changed midway through the painting.
That meant da Vinci had changed his mind (about the position of the thumb) halfway through the painting -- it had to be da Vinci for nobody would change the angle of the thumb on a copy.