“Salvator Mundi”, the painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, is currently stored in Geneva according to the BBC. The painting has reportedly been in a free port, a warehouse where works and goods are stored that have not been cleared through customs, for several years. Bernard Haykel, a friend of Prince Mohammed bin Salman and a professor specializing in the Middle East at Princeton University, denies rumors that the painting has been on “MBS’s” yacht for several years. The painting has not been seen publicly since 2017, when it was auctioned at Christie’s New York.
The purchase of the painting is said to be hiding an ambitious cultural project led by the young crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Mohammed bin Salman is said to intend to exhibit the painting in a future museum in Riyadh, which has not yet been built, the BBC reports. “I want a symbolic object that will attract crowds like the Mona Lisa” said the prince, who has multiplied the soft power tourism and cultural projects in recent years in order to modernize the image of his country.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Salvator Mundi (savior of the world), circa 1500, oil on walnut panel, 64.5 x 44.7 cm
© Christie’s Images Limited
Bought by MBS for $450 million, “Salvator Mundi” is the most expensive painting ever sold. A glorious Christ stands out against a black background, blessing with one hand and holding a transparent globe in the other, in a very tight composition on a canvas measuring 56 cm by 45. Some experts believe that the style does not resemble other works by Leonardo da Vinci, particularly the proportions of Jesus and the facial expressions. The painting has undergone significant restoration, which calls into question the authenticity of the different layers of paint and the veracity of the details. The Louvre rejected the attribution of the painting following an investigation in 2018, thus excluding it from the “Leonardo da Vinci” exhibition. A publication by the Louvre would not confirm that it is a Leonardo had revealed at the time the New York Times.
A brand new museum of “world cultures”, directed by Hartwig Fischer, the former director of the British Museum, will open in the Royal Arts Complex in Riyadh in 2026. Initiated by the Saudi prince in his Vision 2030 plan, could this new place accommodate the “Salvator Mundi”?
