The sore of doubt around a billion paintings

Art historians until now were absolutely sure that the painting “Salvator Mundi” is one of the works of Leonardo da Vinci.

Now the famous Prado Museum has smashed the painting, removing it from the list of works, it is absolutely certain that da Vinci painted himself.

The painting has now been moved to the “Works added, collaborations or works under Da Vinci” list. Thus, the Prado Museum casts doubt on whether it was the world-famous Renaissance artist who actually painted the painting.

Four billion crowns

In 2017, Saudi Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bought the painting at Christie’s auction house. The prince eventually wrote a payment of $450 million, or roughly four billion crowns CNN.

The artwork is likely to be displayed in the new Louvre Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

One of the most visited museums in the Middle East, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is a collaborative project between France and the Emirates. France allowed the Emirates to use “Louvre” in the name until 2037.

Missing Prototype

The reason the artwork is now deteriorating is that Prado curator Ana Gonzalez Muzo thinks it might be There was a prototype Da Vinci also painted, and that this is a copy made by someone who looked at the prototype.

– Fame is monotonous

Mozo also thinks other versions of the “Salvator Mundi” may look more like the prototype than the one Prince bought in 2017.

Among other things, she referred to the so-called Ganay copy, which was purchased by French nobleman Hubert in 1939. This version is now in a private art collection, according to CNN.

The Prado Museum believes that Janay’s copy was made by the same person who painted a copy of Da Vinci’s world-famous painting, “The Mona Lisa.”