Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

The dramatic public unveiling of Christ as Salvator Mundi (“Savior of the World”) in the exhibition Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan at The National Gallery, London, in 2011, caused a worldwide media sensation. Painted by one of history’s greatest and most renowned artists, as well as one whose works are among the rarest—fewer than twenty paintings in existence are generally accepted as from the artist’s own hand—it was the first discovery of a painting by Leonardo da Vinci since 1909, when the Benois Madonna, now in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, came to light. In fact, its inclusion in the exhibition came after more than six years of painstaking research and inquiry to document the painting’s authenticity, begun shortly after it was discovered—heavily veiled with overpaints, long mistaken for a copy—in a small, regional auction in the United States.
The painting’s new owners moved forward with admirable care and deliberation in cleaning and restoring the painting, researching and thoroughly documenting it, and cautiously vetting its authenticity with the world’s leading authorities on the works and career of the Milanese master. As fascinating as any of the many best-selling thrillers that have taken Leonardo for their subject, the rehabilitation of the Salvator Mundi is the story of the greatest and most unexpected artistic rediscovery of the 21st century.

Zu unserem Blogbeitrag "Salvator Mundi".