Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, the most expensive painting in history, was displayed on the Saudi crown prince’s superyacht after a row kept it out of an exhibition at the Louvre, it was claimed last night.
The painting was bought at a Christie’s auction in 2017 for $450 million by a distant relative of Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS. Debate has swirled around the authenticity of the work, which has not been seen publicly since the sale.
The portrait of Christ was supposed to be shown in Paris in late 2019, as part of a show to mark the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death. However, a diplomatic dispute is said to have broken out when the Louvre’s curators refused to hang it next to the Mona Lisa, also by the Italian Renaissance master, which is seen by 30,000 people daily in a purpose-built room.
A documentary shown on French television this week alleges that the Saudis withheld the painting after experts concluded that Leonardo had only “contributed” to it. However, that version of events has been disputed in recent days.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the painting was hung on MBS’s 439ft yacht, Serene, after its trip to Paris. The ship was moored in the Red Sea, near the futuristic Saudi city of Neom, which is under construction.
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Rumours that the painting was being kept on the boat emerged in 2019, to the alarm of art experts who said that its wood and paint pigments could deteriorate if exposed to fluctuating temperatures and sea air.
The newspaper said the yacht, which has three swimming pools and an indoor climbing wall, was now in a Dutch shipyard for maintenance, suggesting that Salvator Mundi had been moved to a secret location in Saudi Arabia.
Last year the Saudi culture ministry said it planned to build a museum to accommodate the painting, which would attract visitors from around the world.
Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed, who bid on the painting, said at the time he did it as a “friendly supporter” of Louvre Abu Dhabi, a new museum in the United Arab Emirates, a key Gulf ally of Saudi Arabia. The museum said that it would unveil the painting but has never done so.