Lost Leonardo da Vinci painting to break World Record
The oil painting, which depicts Christ with one hand raised in blessing and the other cradling a globe, is entitled 'Salvator Mundi' or 'Saviour of the World'.
Its discovery has been hailed by scholars as one of the most important artistic finds of the last 100 years.
For centuries it was believed to have been the work of a protégé of Leonardo.
But recent restoration work convinced a panel of eminent scholars in Britain, Italy and the US that it was created by the Renaissance master.
It is reportedly due to go on display for the first time at the National Gallery in London in November.
It is then expected to be offered for sale by the consortium of American dealers that own it, having reportedly bought it an estate sale about six years ago.
The oil on wood painting was once owned by King Charles I, and after his execution was passed it on to his son, Charles II.
It then vanished into obscurity until it turned up in the possession of Sir Francis Cook, a 19th-century British collector.
It was sold in 1958 for just £45, having been attributed to Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, one of Leonardo's pupils.
When the painting, which measures 26 in by 18 in, was acquired by the American consortium, restorers were brought in to scrape off centuries of grime and varnish to correct earlier, botched restoration efforts.
But as they delicately returned the painting to its original state, they began to think that it was the work of the master himself.
The exact circumstances of the painting's rediscovery and how much it might be worth were cloaked in secrecy yesterday.
Prof Martin Kemp, Emeritus Professor of the History of Art at Oxford University, was one of four of the world's foremost Leonardo experts invited to inspect the painting at the National Gallery.
But he told The Daily Telegraph that he could not comment until the owner of the work issued an official announcement, probably in September.
Pietro Marani, an Italian art historian who directed the restoration of Leonardo's Last Supper in Milan, viewed the work in London last year.
"Before the restoration it was in a bad state, covered by old layers of paint. But during the restoration the quality of the painting emerged – the marvellous colours, the reds and blues of the garment (worn by Christ), which are reminiscent of The Last Supper.
A comparison with another da Vinci work, the Virgin of the Rocks, "also seems to confirm that this is a Leonardo painting," said Prof Marani, along with scientific tests of the paint.
The National Gallery would not confirm or deny whether the picture will feature in its forthcoming exhibition, 'Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan", which starts on Nov 9, but its appearance would be a major coup.
The exhibition of 60 paintings and drawings is already being claimed as "sensational" because it will gather together Leonardo paintings that have never before been seen in the UK. "Discussions are still ongoing with the owner," a spokeswoman said.
ARTnews magazine, which first reported the discovery this week, suggested that when the painting is auctioned it could sell for as much as $200 million, an amount that would smash previous records.
The oil painting, which depicts Christ with one hand raised in blessing and the other cradling a globe, is entitled 'Salvator Mundi' or 'Saviour of the World'.
Its discovery has been hailed by scholars as one of the most important artistic finds of the last 100 years.
For centuries it was believed to have been the work of a protégé of Leonardo.
But recent restoration work convinced a panel of eminent scholars in Britain, Italy and the US that it was created by the Renaissance master.
It is reportedly due to go on display for the first time at the National Gallery in London in November.
It is then expected to be offered for sale by the consortium of American dealers that own it, having reportedly bought it an estate sale about six years ago.
The oil on wood painting was once owned by King Charles I, and after his execution was passed it on to his son, Charles II.
It then vanished into obscurity until it turned up in the possession of Sir Francis Cook, a 19th-century British collector.
It was sold in 1958 for just £45, having been attributed to Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, one of Leonardo's pupils.
When the painting, which measures 26 in by 18 in, was acquired by the American consortium, restorers were brought in to scrape off centuries of grime and varnish to correct earlier, botched restoration efforts.
But as they delicately returned the painting to its original state, they began to think that it was the work of the master himself.
The exact circumstances of the painting's rediscovery and how much it might be worth were cloaked in secrecy yesterday.
Prof Martin Kemp, Emeritus Professor of the History of Art at Oxford University, was one of four of the world's foremost Leonardo experts invited to inspect the painting at the National Gallery.
But he told The Daily Telegraph that he could not comment until the owner of the work issued an official announcement, probably in September.
Pietro Marani, an Italian art historian who directed the restoration of Leonardo's Last Supper in Milan, viewed the work in London last year.
"Before the restoration it was in a bad state, covered by old layers of paint. But during the restoration the quality of the painting emerged – the marvellous colours, the reds and blues of the garment (worn by Christ), which are reminiscent of The Last Supper.
A comparison with another da Vinci work, the Virgin of the Rocks, "also seems to confirm that this is a Leonardo painting," said Prof Marani, along with scientific tests of the paint.
The National Gallery would not confirm or deny whether the picture will feature in its forthcoming exhibition, 'Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan", which starts on Nov 9, but its appearance would be a major coup.
The exhibition of 60 paintings and drawings is already being claimed as "sensational" because it will gather together Leonardo paintings that have never before been seen in the UK. "Discussions are still ongoing with the owner," a spokeswoman said.
ARTnews magazine, which first reported the discovery this week, suggested that when the painting is auctioned it could sell for as much as $200 million, an amount that would smash previous records.
