The Saviour for Sale: The Story of the Salvator Mundi

After mysteriously reappearing, the painting Salvator Mundi (The Saviour of the World) was sold at Christie’s for a record 450 million dollars in 2017. Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, it became the most expensive piece of art ever, and has unleashed passions while revealing the excesses of our time. But is it really the work of the Italian genius, or one of the greatest scams in the history of art?

This modern tale of globalisation delves into unknown secrets of the art world and explores the influence that one painting can exert on personal and geopolitical interests, weaving links between the auction houses of New York, a revered da Vinci expert, an opportunistic Swiss go-between, a Russian oligarch, the Louvre in Paris and an Arabian prince. This is an astonishing journey along the hidden trails of money, power and deception behind this questionable masterpiece.