Written by Oscar Holland, CNN
A 16th-century copy of “Salvator Mundi,” the world’s most expensive painting, has been recovered by police after being stolen from a museum in Naples.
The artwork, which was apparently painted by one of the Renaissance master’s students, was found at an apartment during a survey in an Italian city, according to a statement sent by Italian police. -mach. The owner of the 36-year-old property was found nearby and taken to prison on suspicion of receiving stolen goods.
The image was modeled on Leonardo ‘s famous portrait of Christ with one hand raised in blessing and the other holding a crystal orb. Many copies of the work were made during the artist’s lifetime by his students and assistants.
Italian police are displaying the recovered painting, which is believed to date back to the 1510s. Credit: Salvatore Laporta / IPA / Shutterstock
Although the identity of this particular “Salvator Mundi” is unknown, it is thought to have been painted in the late 1510s by someone from the artist ‘s workshop. The owner of the painting, the San Domenico Maggiore Museum in Naples, said on his website that there are “several theories” about the painter’s identity, with the “most convincing” theory crediting Leonardo’s student , Girolamo Alibrandi.
The painting is believed to have been created in Rome before being brought to Naples by Giovanni Antonio Muscettola, ambassador and adviser to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.
The artwork briefly returned to the Italian capital in 2019, when it was loaned to the Villa Farnesina for his exhibition “Leonardo in Rome.” The exhibition’s brochure described it as an “elegant” copy of the artist’s masterpiece. At the same time San Domenico Maggiore’s online listing described the work as a “revised” and “well-preserved” pictorial version.
Police did not specify when the painting was stolen, although the Naples museum said their work was as late as January 2020, when it was returned from Rome.
Related video: Leonardo “Salvator Mundi” currently 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. Disposed of as a copy, it sold in the UK for just £ 45 ($ 61) in the 1950s.
Although some scholars have been controversial about Leonardo, suggesting that it was created in part by members of his workshop, the drawing was updated and validated before it became the work. most expensive art ever sold at auction. It is widely believed that the modern claim was made on behalf of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
The “Salvator Mundi” has not been seen in public, however, since the November 2017 sale. After the Louvre Abu Dhabi announced that it would be showing the picture, it canceled the big show in 2018 without explanation.
Image caption above: The “Salvator Mundi” copy found in Naples, Italy on January 18, 2021
