Da Vinci Portrait Of Jesus To Be Sold For $100 Million

The last Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting dating from around 1500, “Salvator Mundi” — which depicts Jesus Christ as the world’s saviour, will go under the hammer next month in New York. According to reports, the Christie’s auction house on Tuesday, estimated its worth at $100 million.

The painting which was long believed to be a copy of an original by the Italian master, was eventually certified as authentic. Fewer than 20 works by Da Vinci, whose art was already highly sought after during his lifetime, have survived to this day — all of them held in museum or institutional collections, with the exception of “Salvator Mundi.”

As a general rule, very few pre-19th-century artworks remain in private ownership, and it is extremely rare for one of them to be offered at auction. “For auction specialists, this is pretty much the Holy Grail, no pun intended, but it doesn’t really get better than that,” said Loic Gouzer, co-chairman of Christie’s Americas post-war and contemporary art department. A third party guarantee has been arranged for the painting, which ensures it will sell for around the estimate of $100 million on November 15, said Francois de Poortere, head of the Christie’s old masters department in New York.

Photo Credit: Getty

Leave a Reply