Da Vinci portrait of Christ sells for record $450.3 million in New York

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Da Vinci portrait of Christ sells for record $450.3 million in New York

 

FILE PHOTO: "Salvator Mundi," an ethereal portrait of Jesus Christ which dates to about 1500, the last privately owned Leonardo da Vinci painting, is on display for the media at Christie's auction in New York, NY, U.S., October 10, 2017. Courtesy Christie's New York/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Christ "Salvator Mundi" sold for a record-smashing $450.3 million (£341.82 million) on Wednesday at Christie's in New York -- more than double the old mark for any work of art at auction.

 

The painting, only recently rediscovered and the last da Vinci left in private hands, fetched more than four times over the Christie's pre-sale estimate of about $100 million. It was more than twice the old auction record set by Picasso's "Les Femmes D'Alger," which sold for $179.4 in May 2015.

 

"Salvator Mundi" was purchased by an unidentified buyer bidding via telephone after a protracted bidding war that stretched to nearly 20 minutes at the New York auction house.

 

(Reporting by Chris MichaudEditing by Sandra Maler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-16

[KBsinter]

Jesus Christ, for a painting.......? 

[Oxx]

I thought this was a painting of a Mr. Mundi, not Christ.  And "Salvator" is clearly an Hispanic name, not a Jewish one.

[KBsinter]

Salvator Mundi, Latin for Saviour of the World, in case there is some misunderstanding

I knew this prior to posting my little joke..............lol 

[malibukid]

stupid waste of money

[ExpatOilWorker]

4 minutes ago, malibukid said:

stupid waste of money

It is not wasted, it is invested.

[wavemanwww]

If any person can pay that rediculous amount for a simple painting the two questions ,

 

1 How did they make such money and I,m sure not legally and

2 How much do they donate to the poor and starving of this world? I hope there is a hell!

[malibukid]

too many hungry people.  oh but it's mine. it's mine.  never to be shared again.

[malibukid]

i am a collector for 45 years, and believe me the art world is full of pimps

[KBsinter]

Probably, GATES foundation he has been giving money to all sorts of charity"s he is no longer the richest man in the world, I read somewhere he has given nearly half his previous fortune away.............

[nausea]

You can see Van Gogh for free in Lop Buri now:

 

[Here It Is]

I don't get art. 

 

My wife is beautiful and I mean extremely.  Hardly a day goes by when she's afforded a comment on her beauty.  That's art to me.

[Oxx]

2 hours ago, Here It Is said:

My wife is beautiful and I mean extremely.  Hardly a day goes by when she's afforded a comment on her beauty.  That's art to me.

 

Does she look like this? If not, she's not a work of art:

[nausea]

You're getting confused, that is how she sees herself, you see her like this:

 

 

[observer90210]

Now this is a use of some serious cash flow, not just another average millionaire wanting to buy cultural status for his drawing room !!!......

 

......would not be surprised if it ended up at the new Louvre - Abu Dhabi.

 

On a different note, I wonder if anti money-laundering protocols were deployed for this transaction, with similar zealous probing, as the tellers in some banks here and there, each time I request some modest financial operations.

[hawker9000]

It would be interesting to know who bought it, and where it will end up.  It belongs in a museum somewhere where everybody can see it.

 

C'mon guys.  Get over the envy.  Da Vince is arguably the world's all-time greatest artist, and this particular painting was thought to be long lost.  And even when it was found there was serious doubt about its authenticity.  If somebody has that much money and wants to spend it on epically historic, fine art, all your muttering, sniveling, and carping about it just sounds lame.  Because you don't get it doesn't mean the rest of the world doesn't.  And you have absolutely NO idea about his philanthropy or lack of it - but don't let that stop a good whine. It was an auction, and to bring in that much money there were probably some other losing bids in the same ballpark; but this one guy wins and sets you all to wondering where his money came from, whether the anti-laundering police were watching, if he's going to squirrel it away in his own private drawing room, whether he gives to charity, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.  Where's the outrage over ridiculous money thrown at pro-athletes and Hollywood actors?   What total losers.