The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World's Most

The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World's Most Expensive Painting

An epic quest exposes hidden truths about Leonardo da Vinciâ€™sÂ Salvator Mundi,Â the recently discovered masterpiece that sold for $450 millionâ€”and might not be the real thing.
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In 2017, Leonardo da Vinciâ€™s small oil painting theÂ Salvator MundiÂ was sold at auction. In the words of its discoverer, the image of Christ as savior of the world is â€œthe rarest thing on the planet.â€ Its $450 million saleÂ price also makes it the worldâ€™s most expensive painting.
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For two centuries, art dealers had searched in vain for the Holy Grail of art history: a portrait of Christ as theÂ Salvator MundiÂ by Leonardo da Vinci. Many similar paintings of greatly varying quality had been executed by Leonardoâ€™s assistants in theÂ early sixteenth century. But where was the original by the master himself? In November 2017, Christieâ€™s auction house announced they had it. But did they?
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The Last LeonardoÂ tells a thrilling tale of a spellbinding icon invested with the power to make or break the reputations of scholars, billionaires, kings, and sheikhs. Ben Lewis takes us to Leonardoâ€™s studio in Renaissance Italy; to the court of Charles I and the English Civil War; to Amsterdam, Moscow, and New Orleans; to the galleries, salerooms, and restorerâ€™s workshop as the painting slowly, painstakingly emerged from obscurity. The vicissitudes of the highly secretive art market are charted across six centuries. It is a twisting tale of geniuses and oligarchs, double-crossings and disappearances, in which weâ€™re never quite certain what to believe. Above all, it is an adventure story about the search for lostÂ treasure, and a quest for the truth.

Praise for The Last Leonardo

â€œThe story of the worldâ€™s most expensive painting is narrated with great gusto and formidably researched detail in Ben Lewisâ€™s book. . . . Lewisâ€™s probings of the Salvatorâ€™s backstory raise questions about its historical status and visibility, and these lead in turn to the fundamental question of whether the painting is really an autograph work by Leonardo.â€â€”Charles Nicholl,Â The Guardian

â€œAs the art historian and critic Ben Lewis shows inÂ his forensically detailedÂ andÂ gripping investigationÂ into the history, discovery and sales of the painting,Â establishing the truth is like nailing down jelly.â€â€”Â Michael Prodger,Â The Sunday Times

Country	USA
Author	Ben Lewis
Binding	Hardcover
EAN	9781984819253
ISBN	1984819259
Label	Ballantine Books
Manufacturer	Ballantine Books
MPN	Illustrations, unspecified
NumberOfItems	1
NumberOfPages	384
PartNumber	Illustrations, unspecified
PublicationDate	2019-06-25
Publisher	Ballantine Books
ReleaseDate	2019-06-25
Studio	Ballantine Books

The Last Leonardo: The Secret Lives of the World's Most Expensive Painting

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