Composed of Oscar Holland, CNN
A 16th-century copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” the world’s most expensive painting, was recovered by Italian police after being stolen from a museum in Naples.
The artwork, which was probably painted by one of the students of the Renaissance master’s degree, was discovered in an apartment during a search in the Italian city, according to a police statement. The 36-year-old owner of the property was found nearby and arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen goods.
The portrait was modeled after Leonardo’s famous description of Christ, with one hand raised in blessing and the other holding a crystal globe. Numerous copies of the work were made during the artist’s lifetime by his students and assistants.
Italian police present the recovered painting, which is believed to date from the 1510s. Credit: Salvatore Laporta / IPA / Shutterstock
Although it is not known who created this “Salvator Mundi”, it is believed that it was painted in the late 1510s by someone in the artist’s studio. The owner of the portrait, the San Domenico Maggiore Museum in Naples, said on his website that there are “several hypotheses” about the painter’s identity, with the “most convincing” theory being credited to Leonardo Girolamo Alibrandi’s student.
It is believed that the painting was created in Rome before being brought to Naples by Giovanni Antonio Muscettola, a messenger and adviser to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
The artwork returned briefly to the Italian capital in 2019, when it was loaned to Villa Farnesina for its exhibition “Leonardo in Rome”. The exhibition’s brochure described it as a “magnificent” copy of the artist’s masterpiece. Meanwhile, the online listing of San Domenico Maggiore described the work as a “refined” and “well-preserved” pictorial sketch.
Police did not specify when the painting was stolen, although the museum in Naples reported holding the work in January 2020, when it was returned from Rome.
Associated video: Leonardo’s “Salvator Mundi” moment sold for $ 450 million in 2017.
Leonardo’s original “Salvator Mundi” made history in 2017 when it sold for $ 450.3 million at Christie’s in New York. Once rejected as a copy, it was sold in the UK for just £ 45 ($ 61) in the 1950s.
While some researchers have challenged Leonardo’s attribution, suggesting that it was at least partially created by members of his workshop, the painting was restored and authenticated before becoming the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction. The record offer is believed to have been made on behalf of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
However, “Salvator Mundi” has not been seen in public since the sale in November 2017. After the Louvre Abu Dhabi announced that it will show the painting, it postponed the big unveiling in 2018 without explanations.
Subtitle of the top image: the copy “Salvator Mundi” was found in Naples, Italy on January 18, 2021
