Louvre Abu Dhabi doesn't know what happened to the Salvator Mundi (and it's not an April Fools' joke)

Can a painting attributed to the hand of the most famous artist ever, Leonardo da Vinci, and cost a whopping $450 million, such that it is the most expensive work in history, disappear into thin air? Apparently so, because the whereabouts of the world-famous Salvator Mundi, the painting sold at auction by Christie’s in November 2017 for the record sum just mentioned, is unknown: the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which was supposed to exhibit the work as early as September 2018, had to see the exhibition postponed until a later date, and now the staff of the Franco-Emirati museum has no idea where the work ended up. Telling the backstory was the New York Times on Saturday: the U.S. newspaper reports that on an official level the Louvre would not comment, but anonymous sources inside the museum reportedly admitted that the Louvre does not know where the Salvator Mundi is.

The work, by the way, is to go on display this fall in Paris for the major event the Louvre is dedicating to the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death, but there is now concern among specialists as to where the Salvator Mundi (which, recall, is owned by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism) has gone. Dianne Modestini, an art historian at New York University and a restorer who has worked on the Salvator Mundi, told the New York Times that the fact is “tragic,” and that “to deprive art lovers and all those who were moved by the work of this painting is deeply unfair.” Professor Martin Kemp, a leading Leonardo expert and also a contributing author on the Salvator Mundi, also reached by the newspaper said he does not know where the painting is.

The New York Times also reports rumors that the owners are reluctant to show the work in public fearing security concerns. The latest reports wanted the Salvator Mundi to be sent to Zurich to undergo some tests before being shown to the public. But from Switzerland they let it be known that the tests have been cancelled. In short: one waits to see the light in this story.

Image: Leonardo da Vinci (attributed), Salvator Mundi (c. 1499; oil on panel; 65.6 x 45.4 cm; Private collection).

Louvre Abu Dhabi doesn't know what happened to the Salvator Mundi (and it's not an April Fools' joke)

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