Written by Oscar Holland, CNN
A 16th-century copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvator Mundi’, the world’s most expensive painting, has been recovered by Italian police after it was stolen from a museum in Naples.
The artwork, probably painted by one of the Renaissance master’s students, 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 taken into custody on suspicion of receiving stolen property.
The portrait was modeled after Leonardo’s famous depiction of Christ with one hand raised in blessing and the other holding a crystal ball. Numerous copies of the work were made by his students and assistants during the artist’s lifetime.
The Italian police are presenting the restored painting, which is believed to date from the 1510s. Credit: Salvatore Laporta / IPA / Shutterstock
While it is not known who made this particular “Salvator Mundi”, it is believed to have been painted by someone from the artist’s studio towards the end of the 1510s. The portrait’s owner, the Museum of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples, said on its website that there are ‘several hypotheses’ about the painter’s identity, the ‘most compelling’ theory being the merit of Leonardo’s student Girolamo Alibrandi.
The painting is believed to have been made in Rome before being brought to Naples by Giovanni Antonio Muscettola, an envoy and adviser to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
The artwork briefly returned to the Italian capital in 2019, when it was loaned to the Villa Farnesina for the “Leonardo in Rome” exhibition. It was described in the exhibition brochure as a “magnificent” copy of the artist’s masterpiece. San Domenico Maggiore’s online listing meanwhile described the work as a “refined” and “well-preserved” sketch design.
Police have not indicated when the painting was stolen, although the Naples Museum reported it was in possession of the work in January 2020, when it was returned from Rome.
Related video: The moment when Leonardo’s “Salvator Mundi” was 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 dismissed as a copy, it sold in the UK in the 1950s for just £ 45 ($ 61).
While some scientists have disputed its attribution to Leonardo, suggesting that it was at least partially created by members of his workshop, the painting was restored and verified before becoming the most expensive work of art ever to be sold at auction. It is widely believed that the record-breaking offer was made on behalf of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
However, the “Salvator Mundi” has not been seen in public since its sale in November 2017. After the Louvre Abu Dhabi announced it would show the painting, it postponed the 2018 grand unveiling without explanation.
Top image caption: The copy “Salvator Mundi” found in Naples, Italy on January 18, 2021
