SCENESSCENESSCENESSCENES
    0
  •   was successfully added to your cart.
  • Home
  • Country
  • Pop
  • Rock
  • Americana
  • R&B
  • Culture
  • Premium
  • About
  • Contact
    • Music Submissions
    • Advertising
      • Media Kit
    • Customer Support
  • Shop

Da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” Obliterates World Records with Stunning $450 Million Sale

    Home Buzzing Now Da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” Obliterates World Records with Stunning $450 Million Sale

    Da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” Obliterates World Records with Stunning $450 Million Sale

    By Robin Russell | Buzzing Now, Culture | Comments are Closed | 17 November, 2017 | 2

    It dates back to around 1500, has an illustrious history and obliterated world records Wednesday when it sold for $450.3 million. Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, one of only 20 authenticated works of art by the Italian Renaissance artist, was sold at Christie’s Auction House in New York smashing and setting world records. It is the most expensive work of art ever sold and it is the only da Vinci owned by a private collector.

    According to CNN, bids were estimated to be over $100 million for this rare painting. CNN said, “Original estimates had predicted bids of over $100 million for the piece. But the new record was set after approximately 20 minutes of telephone bidding, far surpassing the previous auction record held by Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger, which sold for $179.4 million in 2015.”

    Da Vinci”s Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) depicts Jesus Christ in Renaissance clothing with his left hand holding a crystal spher, the his right hand with fingers crossed raised in blessing. It is described to lack the detail of the Mona Lisa — though both were created about the same time.  Despite its lack of clarity, the 517-year-old painting attracted scores of people during pre-auction viewings in London, Hong Kong and San Francisco.

    Salvator Mundi has a most illustrious history. Scholars believe Leonardo da Vinci began the painting between 1506 and 1513 while under the patronage of Louis XII of France. It was later owned by Charles I of England, recorded in his art collection in 1649. It was auctioned in 1763 by the son of the Duke of Buckingham and disappeared until 1900 when it was purchased by British collector, Francis Cook, 1st Viscount of Monserrate.

    By this time, the painting had been seriously damaged from previous restoration attempts and was dismissed as a copy. Descendants of Lord Cook sold it at auction in 1958 for the paltry sum of  £45 ($59)!

    The painting then disappeared again until 2005 when it was acquired for $10,000 by a consortium of art dealers. It had been horribly overpainted, making it look like a copy. It was described as “a wreck, dark and gloomy.” However, this group of art dealers saw through the debacle and mess, believing it might be the long missing masterpiece. And they were right. The group spent the next few years painstakingly restoring Salvator Mundi and it was finally authenticated.

    Russian businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev then bought the painting in 2013 for $127.5 million. Da Vinci”s Salvator Mundi turned out to be a brilliant investment considering he tripled his money with the sale of this incredible and beautiful masterpiece.

    Now the only question remaining is, “Who bought the Da Vinci masterpiece.”

    Unfortunately, Christie’s can’t say. The prestigious auction house is bound by confidentiality agreements.

    “We do not comment on the identities of the buyers, I’m sorry,” said Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti. “The bids came from every part of the world.”

    However, speculation suggests a couple of likelihoods. According to a report by CNBC, some dealers say the buyer is likely an American, perhaps Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, since there is only one da Vinci in the U.S. Others say the price suggests it was a foreign buyer willing to pay anything to have a da Vinci in, say, China or the Middle East.

    [separator type=”thin”]

    Watch a timelaspe video of the restoration of Salvator Mundi. Provided by Christie’s.

     

     

    Christie's Auction House, Leonardo Da Vinci, Salvator Mundi

    Robin Russell

    Robin is an Emmy-nominated and award-winning journalist with 27 years experience. She hosted Georgia Outdoors on Georgia Public Broadcasting and was host and executive producer of Two Lane Traveller, which aired weekly nationwide on PBS. She has interviewed President Jimmy Carter, written speeches for Gov. Zell Miller, been published in Southern Living, Georgia Sportsman, Florida Game & Fish among other publications. Robin was educated at the University of Georgia where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications. She resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

    More posts by Robin Russell

    Related Post

    • 80’s Icon Molly Ringwald’s Story Suggest Harvey Weinstein Wasn’t Hollywood’s First Sexual Predator

      By Robin Russell | Comments are Closed

      Actress Molly Ringwald recounts horrifying details of sexual abuse from when she was a teenager which suggests Harvey Weinstein wasn’t Hollywood’s first predator.

    • The Uncompromising Comedy of Red Skelton

      By Robin Russell | Comments are Closed

      Comedy evolved in the 1970s to provocative topics. Skelton stayed true to his own wholesome brand of family-oriented comedy. A whole generation grew up loving him.

    • Was Satan Living in David Bowie’s Pool? The Occult’s Influence on Rock ‘n Roll

      By Yeats Brehon | Comments are Closed

      What is the nature of occult’s influence on rock and roll? According to the book Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll by Peter Berbegal, the occult expanded the language and sound of rock and roll, and was more about theater and fun than the diabolical. It’s a good argument, although not entirely convincing.

    • Andrew Sullivan’s War on Cancel Culture

      By Yeats Brehon | Comments are Closed

      The popular and controversial journalist, fifty-seven, has no love for conservatism, yet he has become shocked at how liberalism over the last few years has become censorious and authoritarian.

    • A “Game-Changer” in the Fight Against Human Trafficking

      By Yeats Brehon | 3 comments

      Thanks to The Knoble, the fintech quants who watch money flashing electronically around the world are being enlisted in the fight against sexual trafficking.

    • Sign up for our Daily Digest, where we deliver the top headlines in music and exclusive SCENES Live Sessions details straight to your inbox!

    Download Sessions and Buy Merch

    • Levi Riggs on SCENES Live Sessions Levi Riggs on SCENES Live Sessions $2.99
    • Sydney Cope on SCENES Live Sessions Sydney Cope on SCENES Live Sessions $2.99
    • George Shingleton on SCENES Live Sessions George Shingleton on SCENES Live Sessions $2.99
    • Lindsay Foote and Liv on SCENES Live Sessions Lindsay Foote and Liv on SCENES Live Sessions $2.99
    • Madeline Merlo on SCENES Live Sessions Madeline Merlo on SCENES Live Sessions $2.99
    • Media Kit
    • Privacy Policy
    © 2022 | All Rights Reserved
    • Home
    • Country
    • Pop
    • Rock
    • Americana
    • R&B
    • Culture
    • Premium
    • About
    • Contact
      • Music Submissions
      • Advertising
        • Media Kit
      • Customer Support
    • Shop
    SCENES
      0 items