Leonardo Da Vinci
"Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen’.
Possibly the worlds greatest known artist, Leonardo was a painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, military engineer and draftsman — the epitome of a “Renaissance man.” With a curious mind and keen intellect, da Vinci studied the laws of science and nature, which greatly informed his work. His ideas and body of work have influenced countless artists and made da Vinci a leading light of the Italian Renaissance.
Although da Vinci is known for his artistic abilities, fewer than two-dozen paintings attributed to him exist. One reason is that his interests were so varied that he wasn’t a prolific painter. Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous works include the “Vitruvian Man,” “The Last Supper” and the “Mona Lisa.” The now mega famous 'Salvatore Mundi' painting that broke all art records is rarely listed in his history, yet now leads the world in art value.
In November 2017, Christie’s auction house in New York celebrated the sale of the long missing and mysteriously doubted Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of Christ. Salvatore Mundi sold for auction by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who’d purchased the piece from Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier in 2013 for $127.5 million. The painting was sold to a then, unidentified buyer, for a whopping $450.3 million, including fees, obliterating the previous record set by a Pablo Picasso work in 2015. A tidy profit indeed. Despite any controversy or speculation on its authenticity, 20 minutes of tense telephone bidding as the auctioneer, Global president of Christie’s, Jussi Pylkkänen juggled rival suitors before a packed crowd of excited onlookers in the salesroom.
At one point, Pylkkänen remarked: “Historic moment, we’ll wait” as the bidding went back and forth, pausing at just over $200m as it then rose to obliterate the worlds auction record.
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