Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Christ, "Salvator Mundi", sold for a record-smashing $450.3 million on Wednesday at Christie's, more than double the old price for any work of art at auction. The painting, only recently rediscovered, was the last da Vinci left in private hands and fetched more than four times Christie's' pre-sale estimate of about $100 million.
Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci. Pic/AFP
It beat a record set in May 2015 by Pablo Picasso's "Les Femmes D'Alger," which sold for $179.4 million. "Salvator Mundi" (Savior of the World) was purchased by an unidentified buyer bidding via telephone after a protracted contest of nearly 20 minutes.
1763 Year the painting was first auctioned
£45 Price the painting was sold to an American collector in 1958