Tue 11 June 2019:
A LEONARDO da Vinci masterpiece which has been “missing” for the past two years has reportedly been found on the Saudi crown prince’s superyacht. The whereabouts of the ‘Salvator Mundi’ have been shrouded in secrecy ever since it sold for £344million ($450m) in 2017 – becoming the most expensive painting in history. But Artnet.com has reported that the rare painting is being kept on the superyacht of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The evocative work, dubbed the “male Mona Lisa” because of its similarities to the iconic painting, was said to have been purchased by another prince, acting as a proxy for bin Salman at the Christie’s auction. The 500-year-old painting was reportedly gifted to Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi, so that it could be displayed at the new Louvre Abu Dhabi. But the September 2018 exhibit was delayed indefinitely.
It was also pledged as a loan to the actual Louvre in Paris for an upcoming exhibit to mark the 500 years since da Vinci’s death — but was pulled from that show. Then it disappeared. Reports claim the work was whisked to bin Salman’s yacht the Serene, according to two sources. As of May 26, the yacht was floating in the Red Sea off Sharm el-Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town on the Sinai Peninsula, according to Bloomberg ship tracking data. The painting will remain on board the 439-foot boat until the Saudis create a planned cultural hub in the Al-Ula region, which Artnet described as “basically an art Disneyland.” According to a Telegraph report, the Louvre had insisted on attributing “Salvator Mundi” — whose authenticity has been questioned — to “the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci” instead of the Renaissance master himself. No longer attributing the painting solely to da Vinci would diminish its value substantially, perhaps influencing the decision to keep the work in-house.
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