History's Most Expensive Painting is a Mysterious Portrait of Jesus Christ

The Salvator Mundi, history's most expensive paintingWIKI/Public Domain

In 2017, the art world was captivated by a mystery. The Salvator Mundi (meaning Saviour of the World in English) was bought by a mystery buyer for over $450 million. The painting, which measures 26 inches, is a half-figure portrait of Jesus Christ attributed to the Italian renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. What was so shocking to the art world was that the painting had broken all previous records of any painting sold as it became the most expensive piece of art in history.

Rumors of the mystery buyer soon unraveled as it became evident that the official buyer was a little-known Saudi prince, Bader bin Abdullahi bin Mohammed bin Farhan al- Saudi. However, it’s widely believed by many that the actual buyer was none other than the millennial Saudi crown prince himself, Mohamed bin Salman or commonly known as MBS.

Despite being history’s most expensive painting, the Salvator Mundi is a portrait of Jesus Christ. And like Jesus, much of the painting’s history is also shrouded in mystery.

For one, while previously thought that the Italian Leonardo da Vinci was the artist who painted the portrait, it is now believed that the artist who painted the Salvator Mundi was his student. Da Vinci may have contributed merely some strokes while his student was painting.

Other art experts believe that the renaissance master didn’t even contribute a single stroke to the painting attributed to his name. So, the question is, did the Saudi crown prince buy history’s most expensive fake? That, too, is an actual theory.

Is Salvator Mundi a fake?

Though the Salvator Mundi’s history is a mystery, other factors add more mystery to the painting’s mysterious history. The Salvator Mundi is also thought to be a copy of a lost original veiled with overpainting. The painting was then“rediscovered” and then restored, where it was afterward included in a prominent exhibition of Leonardo’s work in 2011–2012. It was then “claimed” by leading scholars that the painting was the work of Leonardo da Vinci’s.

The real reason why the Muslim monarch bought the tainted painting with a disputed authenticity is unknown. It also remains a mystery why the Muslim crown prince bought a painting depicting Jesus since his religion forbids artwork of prophets and holy people as a form of respect and honor.

Nevertheless, what also remains a mystery is the current whereabouts of the Salvator Mundi. Some reports suggest that the Saudi crown prince’s most coveted prized painting hangs on his private yacht. Other reports indicate that the Salvator Mundi is locked in a vault somewhere in Switzerland. However, what will become of the Salvator Mundi remains to be seen, how its mysterious origins will affect its value or if it will ever be seen again in public exhibitions.