The public's fascination with the original work continues five years after the painting's record $450 million sale, despite the fact that a damaged copy of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi' sold for over $1 million.
Staff members pose next to a painting by Leonardo da Vinci.
The pre-sale estimate for the painting, which was based on Leonardo's painting, was about $10,500, but it was only sold for $10,500.
The top and bottom of the portrait of Jesus were damaged, but the work sold for ten times the price.
The painting, from a private collection in the South of France, is a copy of the landmark "Salvator Mundi" that sold for $450 million at auction in 2017, making it the most expensive artwork ever sold.
Crowds lined up for a week before the auction to catch a glimpse of the work before it was sold. After the painting was sold, the Louvre Abu Dhabi said it would put it on display. Prince Bader is thought to have purchased the painting on behalf of Saudi Arabia's crown prince. The Louvre Abu Dhabi was supposed to unveil the work of art, "Salvator Mundi", in the middle of last year. In the five years since the auction, the painting has never been put on public display. It's not clear where the painting is or why it's hidden.
The $450 million painting may have been finished by Leonardo. The Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain decided to change the painting's status to having been completed by Leonardo's workshop rather than the master himself. The Louvre in Paris decided it was a work by Leonardo in preparation for a landmark exhibition that was supposed to include the painting, according to a booklet set to be sold in the gift shop. According to The New York Times, the Louvre refused to hang the painting next to theMona Lisa after the owners of it pulled it.
High-quality copies of Leonardo's works can fetch millions of dollars at auctions. A copy of the children's book sold for $3 million last year. Raymond Hekking, a French antiques dealer, thought his version of the "Mona Lisa" was the real thing and sold it to the family. Hekking believed that the Louvre's painting was changed after the "Mona Lisa" was stolen.
The world record for the sale of a painting is more than $450 million.
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