Salvator Mundi - Newly Discovered Masterpiece
Leonardo da Vinci lost painting discovered
NEW YORK - A lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci has been identified in an American collection and will be exhibited for the first time this November. Titled Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) and dating around 1500, the newly discovered masterpiece depicts a half-length figure of Christ facing frontally, holding a crystal orb in his left hand as he raises his right in blessing. One of some 15 surviving Leonardo oil paintings, the work will be included in "Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan," to be held at the National Gallery in London from November 9, 2011 until February 5, 2012. The last time a Leonardo painting was discovered was in 1909, when the Benois Madonna, now in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, came to light.
DOCUMENTED HISTORY
Leonardo's painting of the Salvator Mundi was long known to have existed, but was presumed to have been destroyed. The composition was documented in two preparatory drawings by Leonardo and more than 20 painted copies by students and followers of the artist, as well as a meticulous 1650 etching made after the original painting by the Bohemian artist Wenceslaus Hollar.
ROYAL PROVENANCE
The recently rediscovered painting was first recorded in the art collection of King Charles I of England in 1649. It was sold after his death, returned to the Crown upon the accession of Charles II, and later passed to the collection of the Duke of Buckingham, whose son put it at auction in 1763 following the sale of Buckingham House (now Palace) to the King. All trace of the work was then lost until 1900, when the picture was acquired by Sir Frederick Cook, but by then the painting had been damaged, disfigured by overpaint, and its authorship by Leonardo forgotten. Cook's descendants sold the painting at auction in 1958, when it brought 45 pounds Sterling. A photograph taken before 1912 records its compromised appearance at that time. This photograph has recently been circulated in the media, as has another photo [with Christ in a red tunic], incorrectly identified as the (recently rediscovered) work. In 2005, the painting was acquired from an American estate and brought to a New York art historian and private dealer named Robert Simon for study. The Salvator Mundi is privately owned and not currently for sale.
CONSERVATION & AUTHENTICATION
After an extensive conservation treatment, the painting was examined by a series of international scholars. An unequivocal consensus was reached that the Salvator Mundi was the original by Leonardo da Vinci. Opinions vary slightly in the matter of dating, with some assigning the work to the late 1490's, and others placing it after 1500.
Scholars were convinced of Leonardo's authorship due to the painting's adherence in style to the artist's known paintings; the quality of execution; the relationship of the painting to the two preparatory drawings; its correspondence to Wenceslaus Hollar's etching; its superiority to the numerous versions of the known composition; and the presence of pentimenti, or changes by the artist not found in copies.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further information about the painting, provenance and conservation is at www.StacyBolton.com/leonardo.
In addition, a scholarly monograph on the painting, titled The Lost Christ of Leonardo da Vinci, will be published by Yale University Press, London, later this year.
Comments
The pictures can be found on the Lionardo da Vinci research Group's site at:
http://michaelmwd.blogspot.com/
All work documented includeing sites and postings.
Michael W. Domoretsky on January 13, 2012 - 2:36pm
Various tests and close examination has convinced experts this painting in red and blue is genuine. Monochromatic sodium lighting, infra-red and ultra-violet tests were performed and, along with x-rays, these have revealed a number of interesting details:
The pearls around the jewel have been altered.
A cross has been removed from the orb (not very successfully). Leonardo deviated from his basic sketch very little. Infra-red tests showed up the original sketch behind the painting.
X-rays show the paint has been applied in layers on a wooden base. This technique was used often by Leonardo during his last five years of work.
A thick coat of varnish has been added.
Nut wood was used for Salvator Mundi, the same was used on St. John the Baptist. The triangular composition, light angles, facial shadows and hair swirls are typical of many of Leonardo's paintings, while the colors used are reminiscent of the Last Supper.
Typical of Leonardo, many of the objects in this painting have a deeper significance which is not at first obvious to the eye:
The eight-pointed centre star signifies resurrection and corresponds to the eight lines of the threads found on the stole. The ruby represents martyrdom and passion. An unusual vestment tuck seen on the right-hand side of the stole signifies the lance piercing Christ's side. What we now see as a globe was originally an "orb" (when surmounted by the cross); it probably recalls the words, "I am the Light of the world. “The stole symbolizes the Voice of Immortality. Catholic priests don stoles as a sign of accepting the New Covenant.
One issue that is always before us is this: What is of great worth and more intrinsic value, the representation or the reality? The symbol or the reality which is being symbolized? The ritual or the reality that the ritual is designed to celebrate?
The “Red and Blue Painting below, is the True Leonardo, da Vinci Painting.The Blue painting hanging in The National Gallery of England on display now with the collection of true Leonardo, da Vinci Paintings, is owned by Robert Simon a private art dealer in New York and his group, and though Leonardo drew the raised hand in the preparatory drawing was completed by someone other than Leonardo, likely Leonardo's student.
The structural layout of the "student's" "blue" painting below of Salvator Mundi, is unintentionally asymmetric, unlike Leonardos work which is always perfectly balanced and proportioned. There is only one symbol in evidence, now referred to as a globe. Previously the word globe would have been referred to as an "Orb”. Other unfortunate changes in the student’s work is that the mushroom, which stands for the cipher "M" has vanished as a symbol. (Refer to the 6th picture above), and the “Templar Cross" below it,clearly seen in the red and blue painting by Leonardo, is also missing. This means that two very significant symbols are missing, from a very important painting. A very clear indication that Leonardo did not complete the "blue" painting.
http://michaelmwd.blogspot.com/2011/12/leonardo-da-vincis-salvator-mundi...
The da Vinci Project, Research Group
Founder, Michael W. Domoretsky.
Various tests and close examination has convinced experts this painting in red and blue is genuine. Monochromatic sodium lighting, infra-red and ultra-violet tests were performed and, along with x-rays, these have revealed a number of interesting details:
The pearls around the jewel have been altered.
A cross has been removed from the orb (not very successfully). Leonardo deviated from his basic sketch very little. Infra-red tests showed up the original sketch behind the painting.
X-rays show the paint has been applied in layers on a wooden base. This technique was used often by Leonardo during his last five years of work.
A thick coat of varnish has been added.
Nut wood was used for Salvator Mundi, the same was used on St. John the Baptist. The triangular composition, light angles, facial shadows and hair swirls are typical of many of Leonardo's paintings, while the colors used are reminiscent of the Last Supper.
Typical of Leonardo, many of the objects in this painting have a deeper significance which is not at first obvious to the eye:
The eight-pointed centre star signifies resurrection and corresponds to the eight lines of the threads found on the stole. The ruby represents martyrdom and passion. An unusual vestment tuck seen on the right-hand side of the stole signifies the lance piercing Christ's side. What we now see as a globe was originally an "orb" (when surmounted by the cross); it probably recalls the words, "I am the Light of the world. “The stole symbolizes the Voice of Immortality. Catholic priests don stoles as a sign of accepting the New Covenant.
One issue that is always before us is this: What is of great worth and more intrinsic value, the representation or the reality? The symbol or the reality which is being symbolized? The ritual or the reality that the ritual is designed to celebrate?
The “Red and Blue Painting below, is the True Leonardo, da Vinci Painting.The Blue painting hanging in The National Gallery of England on display now with the collection of true Leonardo, da Vinci Paintings, is owned by Robert Simon a private art dealer in New York and his group, and though Leonardo drew the raised hand in the preparatory drawing was completed by someone other than Leonardo, likely Leonardo's student.
The structural layout of the "student's" "blue" painting below of Salvator Mundi, is unintentionally asymmetric, unlike Leonardos work which is always perfectly balanced and proportioned. There is only one symbol in evidence, now referred to as a globe. Previously the word globe would have been referred to as an "Orb”. Other unfortunate changes in the student’s work is that the mushroom, which stands for the cipher "M" has vanished as a symbol. (Refer to the 6th picture above), and the “Templar Cross" below it,clearly seen in the red and blue painting by Leonardo, is also missing. This means that two very significant symbols are missing, from a very important painting. A very clear indication that Leonardo did not complete the "blue" painting.
http://michaelmwd.blogspot.com/2011/12/leonardo-da-vincis-salvator-mundi...
The da Vinci Project, Research Group
Founder, Michael W. Domoretsky.
It may be the only example of a full-on face view by Leonardo in which the nose is fully foreshortened in all others he angles the head using the shape and length of the nose -even in shadow- to give depth and perspective to the facial features.
I am particularly interested to know more of the other photograph you refer to above -`Christ in a red tunic'- as also circulating on the internet. Where am I likely to get sight of this?
Post new comment