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| "Salvator Mundi" Leonardo da Vinci |
Salvator Mundi, meaning Saviour of the World, dates to around 1500 and depicts a figure of Christ holding an orb. The work was long known to have existed, but had been presumed to have been lost or destroyed.
The recently authenticated work was once owned by King Charles I and recorded in his art collection in 1649 before being auctioned by the son of the Duke of Buckingham in 1763. It next appeared in 1900, damaged from previous restoration attempts and its authorship unclear, when it was purchased by a British collector, Sir Frederick Cook. Cook's descendants sold it at auction in 1958 for £45 and it was acquired by a US
The last time a Da Vinci painting was discovered was in 1909, when the Benois Madonna came to light. The piece is currently on display at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg
“Salvator Mundi” will be displayed as part of the gallery's Leonardo da Vinci: Painter of the Court of Milan exhibition from 9 November 2011.
This project reminds me of a similar one going on in Florence right now. I first heard about it in an interview with Dave Yoder that was recently published in The Florentine (see web address for the link). Yoder and a team of scientists are trying to create a camera that will uncover Leonardo's lost work "The Battle of Anghiari" that may be behind other frescos in Palazzo Vecchio.
RăspundețiȘtergereI also found a really interesting book about the painting from their publishing website. It’s called “Finding Leonardo: The Case for Recovering ‘The Battle of Anghiari’”. Here’s the link if anyone is interested: http://www.theflorentinepress.com/finding-leonardo-hatfield/.
It would be incredible if this painting actually exists and is found. How exciting if two lost paintings are uncovered so recently!