A long-lost Leonardo da Vinci oil painting sold for $450 million on Wednesday, smashing the world record for art sold at auction or privately.
The piece—called "Salvator Mundi," Italian for "Savior of the World"—depicts Jesus Christ in Renaissance garb with one hand holding a crystal sphere and the other raised in blessing. Associated Press reports the 26-inch-tall painting was completed in the 1500s and is one of fewer than 20 known da Vinci paintings in existence.
"Salvator Mundi" was commissioned by Louis XII of France and later owned by King Charles I of England. The artwork was presumed lost up until 1900, when it resurfaced and was acquired by a British collector; however, at that time, many people credited the work to one of da Vinci’s followers, Bernardino Luini.
The oil painting was purchased for $10,000 in 2005 by New York-based art collector and da Vinci expert Robert Simon and art dealer Alexander Parish. The two said they bought the piece believing it was a da Vinci copy; however, after a series of tests, experts concluded it was the real deal.
"The whole idea that it might be by him was almost an impossibility; it's kind of a dream," Simon told CNN. "It was a very interesting painting but it's not something I looked at and thought, ‘Oh my god, it must be a Leonardo.’"
Before "Salvator Mundi," the highest-selling piece of art was Willem de Kooning's painting "Interchange," which sold privately for $300 million in 2015. Picasso’s "Les Femmes d’Alger" held the previous record for most expensive piece of art sold at auction, going for $179.4 million.
