The world’s most expensive painting, which is Saudi-owned, was not exhibited at the Louvre two years ago because the French government would not bow to pressure from Riyadh to present the contentious artwork as “100 percent Leonardo da Vinci”, a new documentary has alleged.
The Salvator Mundi was purchased in New York in November 2017 for $450m by a little-known Saudi prince, who was reportedly acting as a proxy to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The painting had been due to be displayed at the Musee du Louvre in Paris in 2019 at a high profile Da Vinci exhibition, and at the Louvre Abu Dhabi a year earlier. However, it failed to appear at either.
A new French documentary released next week, The Savior for Sale, sheds light on the affair, which resulted in a diplomatic tussle between Riyadh and Paris, according to a report in the Art Newspaper.