If you had been watching the news over the last couple of weeks, you may have heard about one Salvator Mundi and possibly wondering what or who this was and why it was so important. Salvator Mundi (The Saviour of the World) is a painting of Jesus Christ by the illustrious Leonardo da Vinci (to anyone under 30, he is the other Leo) and “is one of the greatest and most unexpected rediscoveries of the 21st century” (Christie’s); it recently sold at auction to an anonymous bidder for more than $450 million dollars US. To date this is the most paid for any painting, anywhere, in any time. Honestly, I would like to know what it would be like to drop that much money on a single item. It boggles the mind to even consider it.
There are many questions surrounding this masterpiece including even the date of its completion. Many scholars believe that it was painted in the 1490s around the same time da Vinci completed the Last Supper but others think that it was later after the artist, inventor, and all around polymath (please see last week’s blog for more on that) had moved from Milan to Florence. Like many of his paintings, it probably took him a number of years to complete. It was possibly commissioned by King Louis XII of France and his consort Anne of Brittany soon after the conquests of Milan and Genoa. Why wouldn’t you commission a piece of art for your “love” that remained pregnant for much of her married life? Whole countries and titles are just so impersonal.
The painting then made its way through many of the Kings of England including Charles I, Charles II, James II, then to his mistress Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester and by descent until the late 18th century at which point it disappears from record for almost 200 years. When it does make a reappearance in 1900, it is recorded as being done by Bernardino Luini, who was a follower and member of the inner circle of da Vinci. It was in a terrible state with Christ’s face and hair being heavily overpainted that it was not recognizable as the master’s work.
In 1909 a once thought lost da Vinci (Madonna and Child with Flowers) was rediscovered in St Petersburg, Russia and became the last da Vinci painting to have emerged for almost 100 years. This took the number of known da Vinci paintings up to 15. When the Salvator Mundi was mentioned again in 1913 it was described as “a free copy after Boltraffio” (another follower of da Vinci). After this point, the painting disappeared again for another 50 years and turned up the United States.
Both Bernardino Luini and Giovanni Antoni Boltraffio were said to have worked directly with Leonardo da Vinci so consequently many of their works were attributed to da Vinci and in the case of our painting of topic; the real McCoy was mistakenly labeled as one or the other throughout history.
With all the changing of hands, misplacement, terrible overpainting and “restoration” how could Christie’s authenticate it as an actual Leonardo da Vinci? There was more than six years of research and inquiry to document its authenticity. It is a long and involved business authenticating a piece of art to a specific artist including establishing the provenance, which is the record of ownership of a work of art or antique. (I am leaving a complete and detailed record for my collection of Gargoyle toys so people in the future will not have to worry.), comparing the pigments, media, and technique used by da Vinci in comparison to other works of his art such as the Mona Lisa.
There are historical records of the piece to consider, as many as 20 different versions of this piece done by other artists, as well as corresponding studies, in this case sketches of the draping on Christ’s sleeve and the folds on his tunic. (These drawings are part of the royal collection at Windsor Castle. Who doesn’t have a couple of da Vinci sketches hanging around their living room?). There was infrared imaging done which revealed the pentimenti, the preliminary compositional ideas that were consequently changed by the artist before the finishing of the painting. This infrared reflectography imaging also revealed distinct handprints in the smoothing of some areas of Christ’s face which was a very distinctive trait of da Vinci’s painting. The painting was studied at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and The National Gallery in London by many leading scholars, proving it to be worldlier and better connected than me, which would not be hard.
So, with all that it takes to positively authenticate a piece of art, is it any wonder it received $450, 312,500 as its final winning bid? I think if you are one of only 16 paintings in existence made by one of the greatest scholars/artists in history and owned by many kings and important people, you can feel a little above the rest of the crowd and fetch the big bucks.
–Janice Willson
