$450m ‘Leonardo painting’ heads to Louvre Abu Dhabi

A painting of Jesus believed to be by Leonardo da Vinci that shattered auction records when it was sold for $450 million last month will go on display at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the museum announced on Twitter.

The museum tweeted that “Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi is coming to #LouvreAbuDhabi,” which was confirmed by Christie’s, the auction house that handled the sale of the painting. Christie’s declined to say whether the museum bought the painting.

The New York Times reported Saudi Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud purchased the painting at the Nov. 15 auction.

The painting, the title of which means “Savior of the World” in English, was the most expensive painting ever sold at auction. The previous record was Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger, which sold for $179 million.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi, which is affiliated with the Paris original, opened in November, costing more than $1.3 billion to construct. It has more than 600 artworks in its permanent collection.

Courtesy UPI