Long-lost Leonardo Da Vinci portrait of Christ has been authenticated
artinfo.com
This portrait of Jesus (which has been entitled Salvator Mundi) has been authenticated as a work by the artist Leonardo Da Vinci and will go on display at the National Gallery of London in November, with an asking price of $200 million.
Leonardo Da Vinci Painting to Be Unveiled
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A lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci has been discovered in a private American collection and will be unveiled publicly for the first time by the National Gallery in London later this year, according to people close to the institution.
“Salvator Mundi”—a depiction of Christ with his right hand raised in blessing —has been authenticated by experts as the Leonardo painting that disappeared after being owned by Charles I and Charles II of England, according to these people. The last time an important Leonardo was discovered was a century ago.
The National Gallery, which plans a major exhibition on the Renaissance master this fall, declined to comment.
Salvator Mundi—an oil on wood panel measuring 26 inches by 18.5 inches—is a devotional work comparable in size and subject to Leonardo’s St. John the Baptist in the Louvre in Paris.
According to a person familiar with the painting’s history, restorers began work on Salvator Mundi in the hope that it might be by someone closely associated with Leonardo because of stylistic evidence. Leonardo’s hand was confirmed after the removal of layers of discolored varnish and overpaint applied by earlier restoration attempts. Read more.