A historian recently made a shocking revelation about the world’s most expensive artwork ever sold.
The painting titled Salvator Mundi is considered to be the creation of the renowned artist Leonardo da Vinci but recently a historian has presented a theory that revealed it may actually be the work of one of his assistants.
As per CNN, Matthew Landrus, an Oxford University research fellow and da Vinci scholar revealed that the painter only did about 20% of the work for the painting.
He said, “It is a Leonardo painting with the help of workshop assistants. And I think that the help of Bernardino Luini is particularly noticeable in the painting.”
Landrus further told The Guardian, “This is a Luini painting. By looking at the various versions of Leonardo’s students’ works, one can see that Luini paints just like that work you see in the Salvator Mundi.”
Luini, a northern Italian painter from the late 1400s, was one of da Vinci’s studio assistants and known for his unique style of work.
The portrait was sold for $450 million by Christie’s New York at an auction on November 15, 2017.
This painting portrays Jesus blessing with his right hand while holding a crystal orb in the other.
Landrus further emphasised that the entire painting is not by Luini.
He believed that the drapery and various parts of Jesus’ robe and belt show the most obvious signs of Luini’s work.
While, hands, face, crystal orb and texture all show da Vinci’s style.
It was purchased by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism and was displayed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi in September before being included in the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the Louvre in Paris in 2019.
