Oct. 11 (UPI) — A Leonardo da Vinci painting of Jesus Christ will go on the auction block this month and is expected to sell for more than $100 million.
The painting, titled Salvator Mundi, which translates as “savior of the world,” is one of only about 20 believed to be painted by da Vinci himself.
“Salvator Mundi is a painting of the most iconic figure in the world by the most important artist of all time,” said Loic Gouzer, chairman, Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie’s in New York. “The opportunity to bring this masterpiece to the market is an honor that comes around once in a lifetime.”
Da Vinci painted the work around 1500, the same year he painted the Mona Lisa.
“The Salvator Mundi is the Holy Grail of Old Masters painting,” said Alan Wintermute, senior specialist of Old Master paintings at Christie’s, according to the New York Post. “The word ‘masterpiece’ barely begins to convey the rarity, importance and sublime beauty of Leonardo’s painting.”
In May, a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat sold at auction for a record $110.5 million.
