And flipping through this copy, I have to say, I cant read a word of this. We know quite a bit about Leonardo's life from a mini-biography by Giorgio Vasari, a Leonardo fanboy and the world's first art historian.Born a nobody, Leonardo was a charismatic and complicated man self confident and not, driven and not, distracted and not. Leonardo da Vinci paintings that is on public display in the Western Hemisphere. ROBERT SIMON: My name is Robert Simon. French President Emmanuel Macron pictured in 2018 with the owner of the Leonardo, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (Credit: Photo by Bandar Algaloud/Getty Images), "The Louvre is supported by the government, the ministry of culture and ultimately Macron," Cole tells BBC Culture. MASSEY: Still with me then at five-million five hundred thousand, five-million eight hundred thousand, five-million eight hundred thousand. One of the most famous paintings in the world, the Last Supper was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, duke of Milan and Leonardo's patron during his first stay in that city, for the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Hence, every phenomenon perceived became an object of knowledge, and saper vedere (knowing how to see) became the great theme of his studies. While dozens of manuscripts like the Codex have managed to survive the centuries intact, the Codex Leicester is the only da Vinci notebook that is still in private hands. [6] Though the Louvre Museum had turned down the opportunity to purchase it for 100 million,[7] the painting was estimated to sell for $110 to $170 million. At that time this was the 4th highest (unadjusted) price at auction and 10th highest price on this list. If all we do is adjust the $30.8 million that Gates paid for it for inflation, that gets us to somewhere around $50 million today. The world's most expensive painting to sell at auction is Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, which sold for $450.3 million on November 15, 2017 at Christie's.Shattering previous records and exceeding auction expectations, the sale underscored market demand for the artist's rare auction appearances, and the competition among collectors to own a work of such caliber and distinction. The only non-Western modern artwork listed is that of the Chinese-French painter Zao Wouki's oil painting Juin-Octobre 1985, which was sold for $65 million in 2018. Everyone agreed, like Robert Simon said, that were it to go up for auction today. It depicts the dramatic scene described in several closely connected moments in the Gospels, including Matthew 26: . The role of most of these associates is unclear, leading to the question of Leonardos so-called apocryphal works, on which the master collaborated with his assistants. It would not draw more than the Salvator Mundi, which sold for $450 million. Usually estimated at "over 50 M" or "between 50 and 60 million Euros". How many Leonardo da Vinci paintings are there? It is believed to have been compiled between 1506 and 1510. Freeman's was founded in 1805, and is actually America's oldest auction house. The painting disappeared from 1763 until 1900, when it was bought by Sir Charles Robinson as a work by Bernardino Luini, a follower of Leonardo. At $28 million it's away from the room now and on the telephone at $28 million. MICHELA TINDERA: So its 1994, and were listening to an auction in a salesroom at Christie's in Manhattan. In The Lost Leonardo, a grinning Bouvier says his exploits are just business as usual: "you buy low and you sell high." CLIP OF BILL GATES: So here, you're just seeing the page exactly as it looked to da Vinci. Contemporary art, Mould told the Guardian, is where all the big money is. Unless new documentation surfaces (unlikely after all these centuries), or a new scientific method of authentication arrives (also tricky because the work has been so damaged), the mystery may prove eternal. The first question we're asking, but we're going to ask it again is, What are we actually looking at? If it's a first edition of Moby Dick, that's a great thing to have. This painting depicted St. Anne, her daughter the Virgin Mary, and the infant Jesus. This portrait was painted in Florence from 1474 to 1478. Nonetheless, the exhibition went a long way toward legitimising a shaky attribution. Many factors seem to have converged to create this flourishing moment for true art crime. Hi, Chase. As a painter, Leonardo completed six works in the 17 years in Milan. He was described in our Forbes 400 issue of the magazine that year as both a hard worker and brutally candid.. MASSEY: Nineteen-million five hundred thousand I'll be happy to take. Twenty-eight million dollars, then. Various vandals have tried to harm da Vinci's famed masterpiece, and 1956 was a particularly bad year. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Exact price (even the currency of sale) is not known, with estimates from $250 million to $300 million, Within weeks after a private viewing in Vienna in September 2012, Rybolovlev agreed to pay $183.8 million via his dealer Bouvier. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Renaissance artist, inventor, polymath, musician, and architect who painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper and drew the iconic Vitruvian Man. It's with you at $28 million. Paintings are listed only once, i.e. However, weeks after the grand opening of his museum, where he planned to showcase the Codex and other art he had collected over the years, Hammer died at the age of 92. Scholars have been unable to agree in their attributions of these works. Therell never be another painting that I shall sell for more than this painting tonight.. On November 20, 2014 at Sotheby's, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art bought her 1932 painting Jimson Weed/White Flower No. A scene from Saviour for Sale, a second documentary about the Salvator Mundi, by French journalist Antoine Vitkine (Credit: Zadig Productions). We felt that offering this painting within the context of our postwar and contemporary evening sale is a testament to the enduring relevance of this picture.. Because at the end of the day, it's an entertaining story.". DARREN WINSTON: Once we've decided that the book is worth looking at for its condition, for its provenance. Art restorer Dianne Modestini in a scene from The Lost Leonardo, one of two new documentaries about the Salvator Mundi (Credit: Sony Pictures Classics/Entertainment Pictures). A list in another currency may be in a slightly different order due to exchange-rate fluctuations. PETERSON-WITHORN: Given Simon's connections to the Salvator Mundi, and his experience running a gallery of Old Masters works, he seemed like an excellent source to speak with for this valuation. Art Sales: Russian buyers inject confidence into Old Master market: Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 19:17, Pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit, La Montagne Sainte-Victoire vue du bosquet du Chteau Noir, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), Portrait of a Young Man holding a Roundel, Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus, Peasant Woman Against a Background of Wheat, Femme au bret et la robe quadrille (Marie-Thrse Walter), List of most expensive artworks by living artists, List of most expensive non-fungible tokens, List of most expensive books and manuscripts, Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism, For Founders to Decorators, Facebook Riches, Mystery Buyer of Work Attributed to Caravaggio Revealed, Caravaggio Painting Estimated at $170 M. Sold Privately Ahead of Auction in France, "El enigma detrs del Van Gogh que sali de la Argentina", "The Red Vineyard Painting at annaboch.com", "Anna Boch.com Impressionist, patron of many artists", "The Most Expensive Female Artists 2016 artnet News", "The Chinese Ink Paintings of Wang Shaofei Break the World Record", "Abu Dhabi to acquire Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi': Christie's", "A Leonardo Made a $450 Million Splash. Billionaires just live in a different world. Whoever cut it up would be pilloried forever. Fifty-fivefive-point-five million dollars to start it. 1 for US$44.4 million (equivalent to US$50.8million in 2021). And we're going to show you how we narrowed that range to settle on one number. The earliest sale on the list below (Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh) is from March 1987; with a price of 24.75 million (74.1 million in 2021 currency). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. It's worth at least what Gates paid for it. The winning bidder would later be revealed to be Saudi Arabia's Prince. Gifted with a curious mind and a brilliant. I'm an art dealer in New York. The case led to the resignation of Monacos then justice minister, Philippe Narmino. The auction house would not reveal the identity of the buyer or even the region from which they came. 1503-1519). TINDERA: The Italian government had reportedly been expected to participate in the auction. Is it even a Leonardo at all? The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. The subjects range from Inigo Philbrick, criminally charged with defrauding clients by selling more than 100% of shares in artworks, to a golden Egyptian coffin whose smuggled past came to light after Kim Kardashian was photographed next to it at the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute gala. A tempera and oil mural on plaster, "The Last Supper" was created for the refectory . He also did not apply himself to higher mathematicsadvanced geometry and arithmeticuntil he was 30 years old, when he began to study it with diligent tenacity. On the telephone in this room at $28 million. Four hundred million selling here at Christies. If one drawing sold for $12 million, that would mean that he could sell off this whole book clipped to pieces and earn something like $4 billion. But some have said that's because he was left-handed, and he didnt want his ink to smear. She is a captivating, elegant presence on screen, with a whispery voice and wide eyes behind signature black or red-framed glasses. Leonardo da Vinci was described as having a gracious but reserved personality and an elegant bearing. Love film and TV? It's not exactly known why he did that. The painting sold for $119,922,500, Picassos Nude, Green Leaves and Bust (1932) sold at Christie's in New York for $106,482,500, Lhomme qui Marche I (1961) by Alberto Giacometti sold for 65,001,250 ($105,182,398) at Sothebys in London, Picassos Boy With a Pipe (1905) sold at Sotheby's in New York for $104,168,000, Gustav Klimts Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II (1912)went under the hammer at Christies New York and sold for $87,936,000, Francis Bacons Triptych (1976) sold for $85.9m to oligarch Roman Abramovich, A Chinese 18th century Qianlong dynasty porcelain vase sold for 53,100,000 ($85,921,461) at Bainbridges auction house in London, Dora Maar au Chat (1941) by Pablo Picasso sold for 51,560,080 ($83,429,503) at Sotheby's in London, Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet (1890) by Vincent van Gogh sold for $82,500,000 (50,985,692) at Christies in New York, Thank you all for your bidding, said Pylkknen. (Maybe so, but in the films and other reproduced images it does have a more cloying look). And my background is as an art historian. The saleroom erupted in cheers and applause. After the sale, Pylkknen said the sale had been his ultimate privilege. Both sold at Sotheby's in Monaco on the same date in 1989. TINDERA: Now the audience in the room doesnt know this, but a representative for Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates is bidding on the phone. Leonardos parents were unmarried at the time of his birth. And then there's also rarity, or how rare this exact copy or version of a book or manuscript is. PETERSON-WITHORN: Art is one of the toughest things we value for our lists, because the value is just so subjective, and you really don't know what something will sell for until it hits the auction block. Steve Wynn, who bid on the painting at auction, privately acquired the work several months later from the unidentified buyer for an undisclosed, supposedly lower price. Back in 1980 according to an Associated Press report, the man who was the Earl of Leicester at the time decided to sell the Codex, which had been part of the Earl's estate for more than 250 years. Soon, the painting was on its way to Christie's. "As long as this painting is hidden from the world and the future and fate of this painting is unknown, it's going to be clouded in a realm of mystery and the world will be ready to read anything new. An artist by disposition and endowment, he considered his eyes to be his main avenue to knowledge; to Leonardo, sight was mans highest sense because it alone conveyed the facts of experience immediately, correctly, and with certainty. TINDERA: Right. In The Lost Leonardo, Evan Beard, a Bank of America executive who deals with art as investment, talks about the common buyers' motive of using artworks as collateral for other financial manoeuvres. He had an exceedingly inquisitive mind and made strenuous efforts to become erudite in languages, natural science, mathematics, philosophy, and history, among other subjects. But there would, there are people in the world that would probably do that. MASSEY: Twenty-seven million. The sale of Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers was the first time a "modern" (in this case 1888) painting became the record holder, as opposed to the old master paintings which previously had dominated the market. It stayed with the Earl of Leicesters estate until 1980, when it finally went up for auction. To him, it was just his collection of scientific observations and illustrations and writings, mostly focused on the study of water. They arrive in the wake of Ben Lewis's high-profile 2019 book, The Last Leonardo, and dozens of articles. During his second period in Florence (1500-1508), he painted his most famous work, the Mona Lisa (ca. In this episode of Priceless, staff writer Michela Tindera and deputy wealth editor Chase Peterson-Withorn explain how Forbes determines the value of a one-of-a-kind Leonardo da Vinci manuscript that Bill Gates purchased in 1994. At an auction held at Christie's New York in 2016 during a contemporary art event, Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci turned into the most expensive painting ever sold, selling for $450 million at the end of a nineteen-minute bidding war. Leonardo spent 17 years in Milan, until Ludovicos fall from power in 1499. Salvator Mundi, the long-lost Leonardo da Vinci painting of Jesus Christ commissioned by King Louis XII of France more than 500 years ago, has sold at Christies in New York for $450.3m, including auction house premium, shattering the world record for any work of art sold at auction. TINDERA: So back in November 1994, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates was 39 years old and pretty much at the top of his game. This is the mirror where we flip it around, and now here it is in English. ", Auction Records Fall at Phillipss Sale of Contemporary Masters, "Fernand Lger (18811955), Contraste de formes", "Warmer Response at Sotheby's 2nd Night of Auctions", "Hong Kong Billionaire Lau Sets Two Records in 24 Hours", Led by $66M Van Gogh, Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Sale Robustly Kicks Off Season, "Willem de Kooning (19041997), Untitled XXV", "Wang Meng painting auction for $62 million", "A Petite $69 Million Picasso Leads Sotheby's Solid $189 Million Impressionist Sale in London", "Property from a Distinguished Private Collection Pablo Picasso Femme Au Bret Et La Robe Quadrille (Marie-Thrse Walter)", Getty breaks record with $65.1-million purchase of Manet's 'Spring', As Stocks Fall, Art Surges at a $315.8 Million Sale, Claude Monet's "Le Bassin aux nymphas" auction results, A Zao Wou-Ki painting sold for $65 million, breaking records for a work by an Asian artist, Zao Wou-Ki's "Juin-Octobre 1985" auction results, The Most Expensive Paintings ever sold list by theartwolf, Oeuvres d'art les plus dispendieuses au monde, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_most_expensive_paintings&oldid=1140779647, Private Collection, New York, United States, This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 19:17.