Mysteriously disappeared the most expensive work of art
ArtWizard, 02.04.2019
“Salvator Mundi”, the most expensive piece of art ever auctioned, had to appear half a year ago in the Louvre division of the United Arab Emirates, but today no one knows where the art is. About the painting of Leonardo da Vinci (the authorship dispute was not over), in November 2017, 450.3 million dollars were paid at auction.
The candidate was anonymous and months later journalistic inquiries turned the attention to the Saudi royal court and perhaps personally to the heirloom Mohammed bin Salman.
The Abu Dhabi Culture Ministry announced last year that it had the opportunity to include the work in the local Louvre exhibition alongside Rembrandt, Vermeer, Monet, Van Gogh and Mondrian paintings. But nothing goes, there is no explanation of what's going on, the ministry is silent, and the "Louvre in Abu Dhabi" informally claim they have no idea where the picture is, the New York Times reported.
Of the Paris 'Louvre' too, they cannot find their whereabouts. The French government, which runs the Louvre in the French capital, still hopes this autumn will include the "Savior of the World" at the exhibition on the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death.
Art historians from Oxford and the US also say they have not heard where the Mona Lisa's "male equivalent" might be.
The Saudi embassy in the United States does not comment, although it has been proven that Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud is the owner. This is a branch of the royal family in Saudi Arabia, which is quite far from the throne, and he himself is not known to have the means to afford such a purchase. But it is known that he is close to the heirloom and that he became Minister of Culture of the Kingdom several months after the auction. Close to Prince Mohammed bin Salman is also the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.
The latest known information on "The Savior of the World" is about sending it to Zurich for expert assessment by an insurance company. But this analysis has been cancelled and then the trace disappears.
Source: New York Times
