Leonardo da Vinci Painting Authenticated

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Leonardo da Vinci Painting Authenticated

Posted by Susan Benford

An art history blog post from Famous Paintings Reviewed.

A Leonardo da Vinci painting believed lost or destroyed has been authenticated, rocking the art history world (and all Leonardo fans worldwide).

Titled Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World), this panel painting will be publicly displayed for the first time in the forthcoming exhibition, Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan at the National Gallery in London (11/9/2011 to 2/5/2012). Between to have been painted between the late 1490s to early 1500s, the Salvator Mundi is believed to be worth $200 million - although its owners emphasize it is not for sale.

leonardo salvator mundi Art historians have known about the existence of Salvator Mundi from two preparatory drawings by Leonardo, numerous copies made by students, and a 1650 etching by the Bohemian etcher, Wenceslaus Hollar; its location, however, has been uncertain until recently.

Salvator Mundi appears in 1649 in the royal art collection of Charles I and was sold by the royals in 1763, at which point it disappeared until 1900. Sir Frederick Cook then purchased this Leonardo painting; his heirs sold Salvator Mundi for a mere 45 pounds sterling because it was damaged and its authorship forgotten. In 2005 the Leonardo painting was brought to a New York art historian, Robert Simon, and exhaustive authentication began.

Key factors in authenticating this as one of the remaining Leonardo da Vinci paintings were:

the resemblance to Leonardo's preparatory sketches and Hollar's etching;
the stylistic similarities with other Leonardo paintings;
the stellar quality; and
existence of pentimenti.

This brings to fifteen the number of fully authenticated Leonardo da Vinci paintings (the last attribution occurred in 1909 with the Benois Madonna now at the Hermitage Museum). The upcoming Leonardo art exhibition, which will focus on the late 1480s - 1490s when he was court painter to Duke Lodovico Sforza, will leonardo madonna litta also include La Belle Ferroniere, the Hermitage's Madonna Litta, and the unfinished St. Jerome in the Wilderness.

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna and Child (Madonna Litta), 1490s. Tempera on canvas, approximately 16" by 13". Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

This will be the most exhaustive display of Leonardo paintings ever shown. Ever! If you're lucky enough to be in London this fall or winter, tickets are currently on sale for Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan. Run, don't walk!

Tags: leonardo da vinci paintings, salvator mundi, leonardom

Comments

I've commented (negatively) quite a bit on some recent Michelangelo discoveries, and the La Bella Principessa too, but I really like this one. I know the owner (my disclaimer) but I was instantly struck by this one. The panel before restoration was horrid -- not closely Da Vinci-esque. But that was clearly centuries of overpaint. Once cleaned, it is clearly his work. The curls were the first giveaway. His best students, Boltroffino, Giampietrino, and Luini, were talented but lacked subtlety. I believe this one is the real deal. I look forward to the exhibit in London, and perhaps the US someday.

Posted @ Monday, July 11, 2011 11:11 PM by Lowell

Lowell,

How fortunate you are to have seen this!

I concur that the rash of alleged Leonardo paintings and drawings feels a bit like "discovery du jour"... but the authentication process, from all I've read, seems to have been exhaustive with Salvator Mundi.

If you get to the Leonardo exhibition in London, please send an update!

Susan Benford

Posted @ Tuesday, July 12, 2011 7:35 AM by Susan Benford

I have not seen this in person. You may find copies of the painting before cleaning on a number of other sites.

You should also post the news of the new Oxford Michelangelo. That one is interesting too. As with all internet images, it is impossible to judge without seeing it in person. But the modeling is farmore Michelangelo-esq than the very flat and hulkish Pieta announced a few months ago. It could still be by Clovio or Venusti, to name a few, but it is worth debating as the genuine article.

Posted @ Tuesday, July 12, 2011 10:08 AM by Lowell

Thanks for the clarification that you've not seen Salvator Mundi.

Between the Oxford Michelangelo and the newly attributed Caravaggio painting of St. Augustine, I'l be busy writing and researching!

Susan

Posted @ Tuesday, July 12, 2011 4:06 PM by Susan Benford

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Leonardo da Vinci Painting Authenticated

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