At the $300 million mark, onlookers broke into applause. "Salvator Mundi" hasn't been seen in public since that evening in November 2017. Il Salvàtor mundi è un dipinto a olio su tavola (66x46 cm) attribuito a Leonardo da Vinci, databile al 1499 circa e conservato in una collezione privata di Abu Dhabi. Its whereabouts have become the source of intense speculation after the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which had previously announced it would display the painting, last year postponed the grand unveiling without explanation. How a $1,000 art-auction bet turned into the ‘Salvator Mundi,’ a painting some believe to be a lost Leonardo Da Vinci work that later sold for $450 million. The Salvator Mundi was due to appear at the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi last year. The true purchaser turned out to be a surrogate for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia - known to have a taste for pricey trophies, such as $500 million yachts and $300 French chateaus. By the time the painting sold for $450.3 million, Christie's in New York had witnessed one of the most dramatic moments in … The invention of the Salvator Mundi. The Salvator Mundi, a painting of Jesus Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, sold in November of 2017 fetching $450.3 million, as the most expensive art work ever brought to auction. Then, as now, its no show invited speculation as to where it was really hanging. Here’s what you need to know this Friday, November 23. Salvator Mundi, a work of oil on walnut wood of 66 by 45 centimetres, was supposed to go on display in December at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a satellite of the Paris museum, but that exhibition has been delayed without explanation. A Louisiana family discovers that the “Salvator Mundi” painting had long hung in their home before it was reauthenticated as a Leonardo masterpiece. A month after the auction, the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism announced that “Salvator Mundi” by Leonardo da Vinci would join the art collection of the local Louvre. Photo credit: Louvre Abu Dhabi/louvreabudhabi.ae. Il Salvator mundi, fotografia prima del restauro, anno 1912. The image of Christ giving his blessing to the world was a popular subject in French and Flemish art and the half-length pose is typical of the era. Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most consequential developments coming out of the art world and art market. And today, da Vinci’s art piece is shrouded in a new mystery: where is “Salvator Mundi” now? When bids for Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi" hit $200 million there was an audible gasp in the auction room. Salvator Mundi has now officially become a pawn in a much bigger geopolitical game unfolding across the Middle East. Opinion Where In the World Is ‘Salvator Mundi’? Kenny Schachter Reveals the Location of the Lost $450 Million Leonardo. Salvator Mundi, the only Leonardo da Vinci painting currently in private hands broke auction house records when it sold for $450.3 at Christie's in November. The Salvator Mundi (saviour of the World) was commissioned by Louis XII of France in 1506 and Leonardo had finished the work by 1513.