Louvre to unveil Leonardo painting very soon
Abu Dhabi : An official in the United Arab Emirates says the new Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi is “very proud” to have acquired a painting by Leonardo da Vinci that sold for a staggering $450 million last month.
Director of the Department of Culture and Tourism Saif Ghobash tells The Associated Press on Tuesday that the public will can view the “Salvator Mundi” painting when it is unveiled at the museum “very soon.”
Ghobash says: “There is a lot of controversy out there that has nothing to do with the fact that it is going to be displayed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, God willing, very soon.”
Painted in the 1500s, “Salvator Mundi” is the first bona fide da Vinci to be found since 1909. Since it was rediscovered in 2005, the painting has attracted awe, scrutiny and, inevitably, a lawsuit.
The painting was sold to the highest bidder, after 19 minutes of duelling, with four bidders on the telephone and one in the room, for $450.3 million U.S., or $575 million Canadian, with fees. It far surpassed Picasso’s “Women of Algiers,” which fetched $179.4 million (U.S.) at Christie’s in May 2015.
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