Art market intrigue as a colourful cast of characters chases down The Lost Leonardo
A gripping account of the most expensive painting in the world
The Lost Leonardo is now playing at Cineplex Odeon International Cinemas
THE LOST LEONARDO’s sleuthing into the story behind the world’s most expensive artwork is as thrillingly structured as a spy thriller.
Is Salvator Mundi an authentic Leonardo da Vinci or isn’t it? That’s the driving question as the meticulously structured film traces the 520-year-old work’s rise to fame, from its discovery by two low-level dealers at a New Orleans auction to a painstaking restoration and mega-hyped exhibition to its sales in the multimillions.
Amid the colourful cast of characters who appear here: a devoted art restorer, a Russian oligarch, a shady Swiss art dealer, an even shadier Saudi crown prince, and various FBI investigators, Da Vinci scholars, and visual-art critics. Along the way, you’ll visit the National Gallery, the Louvre, and high-end auction houses.
The result is a gripping must-see that works on several fascinating levels. On one, there’s just the suspenseful mystery over the painting’s provenance. On another, there’s the scathing indictment of the greed, power, and money that drives art collecting in the world today. Look no further than the truly chilling reasons a murderous leader of an Arab Islamic State would be pouring hundreds of millions into the purchase of a portrait of Jesus Christ.
By the end of Danish director Andreas Koefoed true-life tale of intrigue, it may not even matter that Salvator Mundi's hype as "the male Mona Lisa" may be built on a lie. The dollars have taken on a life of their own. And one can only imagine what Da Vinci might have thought.
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